We Just Wanted to be Stronger
by azfaerydust
Summary: It was supposed to be a simple training trip. And in a way it was. That is, it was until trouble came running like it always does. Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke are out on a training trip with Jiraiya. Just what sort of adventures are in store for them? Sequel to Broken. The new team seven - AU Drama, Humor, Action - Adventure, Friendship, and just a drop of Horror for fun!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and make no money from it...although I do own cute little Itachi, Naruto, Kakashi, and Sasuke figurines...I'm such a fangirl...

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**Full Summary**

This is the second half of my tale of Naruto Uzumaki Hatake. The first story is entitled Broken. You do not really need to read it to follow along with this story. Here is a very brief summary: Kakashi finds an almost three year old, Naruto in the bushes and ends up bringing him home causing a butterfly effect…

Danzō is proven a traitor, the Uchiha massacre does not happen (Well, not entirely), Sai gets a real home, and Zabuza and Haku no longer die. Kakashi is married to Ayame. Jiraiya admits to being his godfather and Sai, Sasuke, and Naruto are best friends. Yeah, like I said: causing a butterfly effect…

Broken starts out with a lot of angst, but changed as Naruto and Kakashi changed. It has adventure, fluff, humor, and romance. It ended with Naruto, Sai and Sasuke leaving on a trip with Jiraiya when they are ten (No, they were not genin yet). The purpose of the trip was to go to the Summoning Islands to see what animal they might be compatible with. They do not have god-like abilities; in fact, Jiraiya did not believe they would be able to summon anything yet. They were going to see if they can get contracts so that they will be able to summon their creatures when they are older.

**Th**e first 10 or so chapters will be about their trip and then**_We Just Wanted to be Stronger_** will take place two years later. The boys will be twelve and thirteen. Please don't hesitate to shoot me a review letting me know if it's liked or not, what can be improved, or any questions you might have. I can take the good with the bad! And thus their story begins…

* * *

**~~O~~**

Kakashi Hatake was a broken man. Very few people realized the truth. He smiled when he was supposed to, he laughed at the right times like he should, he acted like a normal person. But, those who knew him best saw the spark missing from his soul. When he went to his lonesome home, the real mask came off. Naruto was once broken as well. He was damaged emotionally, physically, and spiritually, until he found a home with Kakashi. Together they healed each other. Together, they learned to live, to laugh, and to love. Although time cannot heal all wounds, together they learned how to become whole. Together, they are no longer broken… just bent.

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**_Chapter One:_**

**_The Mystery of Waterfall_**

What do you see in the dark, When the demons come for you

~~Godsmack~~

**Healed**: to put something right, to recover spiritually or emotionally, to repair or rectify something that causes discord or animosity.

Inky blackness covered the village of Konoha like a mantle. In every street, houses lay dormant; their inhabitants safely slumbering. In one of those homes, a light flickered on. A shadow in the window could be seen slowly moving back and forth in a restless manner.

Across the hall, another room lit up. At the soft squeal of the protesting hinges, a door opened and a woman entered the small brightly colored orange room where the copy-nin paced. Kakashi stilled his aimless movements and gave his wife a self-depreciating look. "I couldn't sleep. I got lost in my thoughts."

Ayame smiled gently. "Stop worrying. You know he will be here soon."

"It's been two years."

"Yes, you've waited a long time. Give it one more month."

"You're right," he agreed with a small sigh. Glancing at the small bed which lay in the corner of the room, he said, "It's just been so quiet without him."

"I know."

"What was I thinking?"

"You were thinking that it was a wonderful, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him and that it was time for you to let go." She noticed the letter crumpled in his hand and added, "He'll be alright in time. You must believe that."

Kakashi didn't answer. He just gave a small shrug and looked out the window.

Although she knew that gesture meant that he didn't want to talk about it, she pressed on. "He's twelve; a genin, and adult by shinobi standards."

"He's twelve; a child by a father's standards. He is feeling such horrible guilt and sadness," he snapped harshly. "I'm sorry," he said quickly. "It's just…just…"

"Waterfall…" they said at the same time.

She strode over to him and took his hand. "Come back to bed. Hopefully, he should arrive soon. There is nothing we can do until then. When he comes home, we will be here for him. We will help him heal."

He allowed her to lead him out of the room. At the threshold, the copy-nin halted and took one last look at the battered and dinged walls and toys that lie scattered all around before snapping off the light. "We really should clean this room," he commented.

Ayame just smiled. She had been hinting at that for two years.

* * *

**~~O~~**

Across Konoha in another darkened district, another light was on. In the kitchen of her home, a mother sat alone holding the first letter her child had written in the last month. Just like the boy that wrote it, it gave nothing away. He didn't mention his feelings of failure or guilt, but Mikoto knew they were there all the same. She knew her son; both of them. Sensing the silent approach of her eldest son, she wiped the tears away and tried to stuff the letter in her pocket. Itachi's hand covered hers gently and withdrew the letter.

"This will not break him," he said, opening the letter and nodding towards it. "It had to happen sooner or later. It is fortunate that it occurred while they were under the guidance of the Sannin."

"I just wish I could be there for him right now. He is so young and Waterfall is so far away. I can't help but feel that this is tearing him apart."

Itachi sat down next to Mikoto, took her hand and caressed it. "You are with him mother. You gave him the Will of Fire and it burns brightly from within. While he may be young yet, he is a true Uchiha."

She gave her son a shrewd glance. "I know this is hurting you just as much as it is him, my son, and yet you comfort me. You have always been closer to him then I could ever hope to be. Thank you."

"Go back to sleep mother," said Itachi softly, "He will arrive soon. Sasuke would not wish to see you in this state."

"Yes, I know kitten," Mikoto agreed with a small smile, "He hates tears."

Itachi rolled his eyes and chided, "He especially hates it when you call us that."

**~~O~~**

In yet another section of Konoha, another light was blazing. A crumpled letter was fisted in a young woman's hand as she furiously paced in circles around the tall scarred nin. "I'm going to kill that bastard! How dare he expose my angel to this?"

"Anko, listen to yourself," began the man patiently, "The Sannin did nothing wrong. It was not his fault. He explained everything last month."

"Nothing wrong…?" she asked sarcastically.

"Nothing wrong…!" she shouted.

Anko growled, "He shouldn't have been anywhere near Waterfall. They should have come straight home after the islands."

Ibiki tried to placate her again, "Waterfall is a peaceful place. How could he have possibly known?" Anko's eye twitched dangerously which caused Ibiki to quickly back up. "Well, you know…it used to be," he said defensively.

"When I see that perverted old fart, I'm going to rip off his balls and feed them to my snakes then tear out his spleen and watch him suffer while I eat dango. You don't want to know what I'll do with the sticks."

"You know I love it when you talk that way, Anko."

Her eye twitched again as she saw the look on his face. "Don't even go there right now," she snarled. "All I have to say is that my little angel had better be okay or Jiraiya is a dead man."

"Yes," agreed Ibiki with a sadistic smile. He vividly remembered the way Sai was when he first adopted him. There was no way he wanted to see the boy in that state ever again. He rubbed his hands together and said gravely, "And I'll help."

* * *

**~~O~~**

Across the Land of Fire, the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya, the Great Toad Sage, awoke with a start. His heart was drumming as though the hounds of hell were chasing him. He wiped the pouring sweat from his brow and shakily got to his feet. He paced around the room in confusion, trying to recall what had scared him so badly. With no recollections of any nightmares, he shrugged and decided to check on the boys before going back to sleep.

He had acquired adjoining rooms at the spa, (reported to have many beautiful women staying here) just in case he got lucky. He frowned sadly at his empty futon before quietly opening the door and peering inside.

The moonlight shimmering in through the window gave enough light to see the three futon's were occupied by the slumbering boys. Jiraiya heaved a great sigh of relief. While the futon's were still spaced very closely together, the boys were no longer huddled together, lying there like poor abandoned puppies, like they had in the past month. It was the first time since Waterfall. And their eyes have finally begun to show signs of life again too.

Jiraiya was very grateful for that. He went back to his futon and lay down again. _"There was no way I can bring the boys home the way they are,"_ he thought to himself with a shudder, _"The way they have been since the incident at Waterfall…"_

* * *

**~~O~~**

Naruto began to jerk in his sleep. His dreams still pursued him with a relentless intensity that petrified him. He couldn't get the betrayed, accusing faces to stop haunting him. They went with him everywhere, day and night.

The people of Waterfall…

Sai curled up in a tight ball. A small whimper escaped his lips as that same dream began to start anew. The same dream he had every night.

The battle at Waterfall…

A single tear streamed down from the corner of Sasuke's eye as his nightmare slowly devoured him again. No matter how many times Jiraiya told them all that they were not at fault; he saw the devastation again and again. He wasn't strong enough to protect them.

Waterfall…

* * *

**~~O~~**

_Boo-ooom!_

_An incredibly powerful blast of heat roared past above them. The air was sizzling hot and impossible to breathe. It scorched their throat and lungs. Their clothes didn't offer any protection either. The heat licked at their skin, even through their jackets, shirts, and pants._

_They didn't dare raise their heads until about twenty seconds later. The massive two story stone house they had been standing next to no longer existed. All that was left was one wall that had survived by some kind of miracle. There were flames still roaring and licking the stones. A broad spiral of black smoke was rising up into the sky. What kind of jutsu could do that and who did it?_

_"We should really get out of this area!" yelled Sai. His soot and mud covered face couldn't quite conceal the tension that hovered around him. "This is getting too dangerous for us to handle; a building might fall down on us."_

_"But what about Raya? We can't leave him!" shouted Naruto stridently over the deafening sounds of the surrounding battle, "And what about all the innocent civilians around here too? We can't just abandon them."_

_"Jiraiya is a Sannin; there is no way we will leave him. I want to join in his fight!" interrupted Sasuke while gesturing towards the ongoing battle._

_"What about the civilians?" yelled Naruto again, "We should evacuate the village and assemble everyone at the mill."_

_Sasuke gritted his teeth at possibly missing the fight. "Fine, but we need to hurry," he grudgingly replied,_

_They each went in a different direction, urging the people to leave the area until it was safe. When they gathered as many people as they could, Sasuke said eagerly, "Let's take off the seals now and join in the fight."_

_"Should we not stay and protect the villagers?" asked Sai with concern._

_"They'll be alright here. There isn't anybody around to harm them. They're all fighting Raya," replied Naruto quickly. "Come on, I want to try out my new jutsu."_

_"I can't help but think this might be a bad decision," said Sai quietly._

_"Come on Aho, bad decisions make for really good stories," joked Naruto._

_Sai ignored the funny feeling in the pit of his stomach and followed his brothers into battle, confidant in his abilities. He had to admit to himself that he was a little eager too. He was a shinobi after all._

_They set out towards Sannin to aid in the battle. He had moved out of the village and was fighting at the top of a steep hill. There appeared to be only one left; a shinobi wearing a black robe with red clouds._

* * *

AN

First of all, I would like that thank my beta **Hahaheeha...**you rock dude!

Also, yes, this is a short chapter (it's more of a prologue), but then again my first one always is. I decided to rate this fic T for now but will probably change to M just to be on the safe side because of possible violance (hey, they are ninja!)... Yup, it's gonna be a little darker, although Naruto is too much of a positive force for it to stay that way! Just to let you all know so that you don't get confused, this story will alternate between the past and the present until the full story of what happened at Waterfall comes out. I guess you could say it's going to be a little bit of a mystery.

As always, reviews are much loved, cherished, and put to bed with a goodnight kiss!


	2. The Journey Begins

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or make any money off it. This story is just a figment of my imagination running wild!_

_Thanks to my beta **Hahaheeha**_

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**_Chapter Two:_**

**_The Journey Begins_**

_The __rising cheers will become your courage__  
__So stand up now, no matter how much pain you feel_

_But in the end I'm sure you'll laugh__  
__Everything will be swept away in victory and cheer_

_ ~~Nobodyknows+~~_

**Two years ago**

"I'll make you proud dad."

Kakashi watched them depart with Jiraiya. _"You always have son," _he said to himself. For ten minutes, he stayed rooted to his spot; everyone else having left, staring at the last place he saw his son. A small flash of yellow appeared in the distance and Naruto was back in his arms, wrapping his whole body around him in a hug like the type he gave at four years old.

"I love you daddy," he said softly in his ear. "Goodbye."

"Love you more, son." He squeezed him tightly and with much regret, said, "Goodbye."

Naruto jumped out of Kakashi's arms and swiftly ran to join his friends and godfather once again. He didn't look back.

When Naruto caught up with everyone, there were tears in his eyes. Although he tried to hide his misery, the quiet sniffles gave him away. Sasuke was beginning to feel a little sad as well, but was able to squash the urge to join in his blonde-haired friend's depression. It's not that he wanted to cheer him up… he just didn't want to hear him blubber like a baby is all…

"Are we there yet, Jiraiya-Sensei?" he asked with a smirk.

"No Sasuke, we just left."

One hour later… "Are we there yet, Jiraiya-Sensei?" A small smile graced Naruto's lips while Sai just looked confused at the Uchiha's questioning.

"Why is he asking that, buttercup? Is he not aware that it will be many months before we reach our destination?" whispered Sai.

"He knows," Naruto responded quietly.

Jiraiya answered, "No, we will be traveling until dusk before we stop and make camp."

One hour later… "Are we there yet, Jiraiya-Sensei?" This time both Sai and Naruto snickered behind their hands as Jiraiya's face grew red.

"IT'S NOT TOO LATE FOR ME TO TURN AROUND AND TAKE YOU HOME, GAKI!"

"Got it…shutting up!" He looked over at Naruto and watched as his face grew melancholy again. _"I can't believe I'm going to do this," _he thought to himself, _"Naruto, you owe me so big!"_

Sasuke began to sing under his breath, "Everybody stand up! Today's the best time to get up…"

Sai joined in. "Before my eyes you still don't stop, speed hunter. Everyone is a victim to that attraction, Yeah!"

"Come on!" Naruto loudly joined in the singing, "Everybody hands up! It's the highly anticipated Hero's Come Back! Hold up your fingers and count down. Let's go, 3-2-1 make some noise!"

Jiraiya covered his ears and walked faster, but the boys kept his pace and sang louder. He gritted his teeth. "Do you really have to sing?"

"What?" asked Naruto, "You don't like my singing, do you? I'll bet it's because you can't sing."

"Do you ever try to listen?" asked the sage.

"Listen to what?"

"The sound of the world."

Naruto cocked his head and listened. "I don't hear anything."

Jiraiya snorted. "That's because you're too loud and moving around all the time. Try sitting still," he said wisely.

Naruto tried to be quiet. He really did. That lasted for exactly one hour before he asked, "So what kind of awesome jutsu's are you going to teach us? When are we going to start?"

The Sannin took a deep frustrated breath. He counted to five, asked himself what the hell he was thinking when he decided to take the boys on this trip, and then said, "Not another peep out of you. All of you!"

Both Sai and Sasuke glanced at Naruto. They could see him practically shaking in effort to stay silent and contain his natural exuberance. Sasuke grinned to himself and winked at Sai.

"Peep."

Sai gave a brisk nod in understanding. "Peep," he parroted quietly.

Naruto slapped his hand over his mouth with a giggle and walked faster, but he couldn't escape the 'peeps'.

Sasuke softly clucked, "brawk-buck-buck-buck…"

Naruto giggled louder.

Jiraiya swiftly turned around to see three innocently smiling faces peering back at him. "You're all a bunch of animals," he muttered.

As soon as his back to them, Naruto shouted gleefully, "MOOOO!"

Sai did a very good imitation of a cat in heat while Sasuke just smiled; his job was complete.

* * *

**~~O~~**

For the next several hours, the Sannin tried the best he could not to strangle the excited little boys. He understood that they were just fired up from the novelty of the trip, but they were still driving him crazy. He finally found what he was looking for and stopped. He boomed out, "Here we are brats! This is a perfect spot to make camp!" He pointed at a little clearing and told them to set the tents up and collect firewood while he hunted them up something to eat.

Feeling too tired to bother with the tents; they listlessly made their way through the trees to find firewood. Naruto's keen nose found it first. "Guys, come here!" he said leading them towards a green pond. He tugged off his shirt, pants, and sandals and then jumped in without any hesitation. "Man, this feels so good. Come on in; join me."

Sasuke quickly followed suit. In a flash, he was swimming lazily beside Naruto in the cold green water. "Get in Aho," he ordered the pale boy who stood hesitantly at the water's edge.

Sai studied the water before responding, "People should not be in contact with water that has a poor appearance. Blue-green algae can grow quickly and become very abundant in warm, shallow, undisturbed surface water that receives a lot of sunlight."

Both boys gave him a blank look before Naruto said, "So what."

"The main risk to humans is microcystin. It causes skin irritations and rashes, but if the water is swallowed or airborne droplets are inhaled during swimming, bathing or showering, symptoms could be worse. Those would include headaches, nausea, abdominal pain, seizures, liver injury and respiratory problems."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You read too much, Aho."

"Yeah, come on, live a little," agreed Naruto.

Sai wouldn't come in. Naruto reached between his feet with both hands, hauled up two great handfuls of mud, and threw them at the artist, hitting him square in the chest and splattering his face. With a look of mild irritation, he wiped it away only to be hit on the side of the head by Sasuke.

He smirked at the dripping boy, "Get in Aho, you are filthy."

"Well I certainly am now." With a long suffering sigh, Sai took off his clothes, neatly folded them and laid them along the bank. He eyed the scummy water and commented, "Judging by the color, I would hazard a guess that this is a breeding ground for bacteria and slimy creatures."

Naruto deadpanned, "What, you want to live forever or something? It's cool, wet, and feels great. And remember; that which doesn't kill you...will most likely succeed the second time."

"I don't get it. Is that supposed to be funny?" asked Sai.

He gave one last look of longing at the shady tree where he would rather sit and draw before jumping into the pond. Naruto and Sasuke were right; the water felt great. Sai ducked under to rinse the mud out of his hair. He popped up with two handfuls of mud and threw them with uncanny accuracy at the other boys. Soon it was flying all over the place in an all out war.

Naruto looked at his friends, both painted as black as he was and laughed. "We should probably rinse off and gather some wood like the pervy sage asked us to do," he said before ducking down one last time into the cool depths. When he came up for air, he swam over to where the other boys were getting out.

"Hey, you guys still have gunk on your backs," said Naruto, noting the black spots that dotted their bodies.

Sasuke turned around and smirked at the blonde. "So do you, baka." As Naruto came closer, Sasuke's eyes widened in horror. He looked down at his own chest and lurched back in terror.

His voice hit a high squeaky note when he screamed, **"LEECHES!"**

Naruto and Sai looked down and calmly began to remove the leeches from their bodies and each other. Sasuke was tearing them off while whimpering. He suddenly became deathly still and his face turned pale white. He pulled the waistband of his boxers out and stuck his hand down into them. He pulled out the biggest, fattest mountain leech the boys had ever seen. His hand trembled.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah…" he moaned before letting out a shrill scream. He dropped the leech on the ground and blasted it with a fire jutsu. Once the creature was fried to a crisp, he looked at his bloodied hand and fainted dead away.

Naruto and Sai grinned at each other for an instant. They rolled Sasuke over and picked off the remaining worms. Naruto said firmly, "Sai, we are never to mention this, ever. Sasuke is our friend and he will never want to be reminded of this. No nicknames either."

"Yes, but what if he…"

"No."

Sai looked at Naruto questionably and asked, "If you say so. Is that one of those things friends do? I have never heard of that rule in my book."

"It's in there, believe me."

"So does that mean that I cannot tell him that the leech was bigger than his dick?"

Naruto hid a smirk then frowned at the other boy. "No, Sai…definitely not that, this is serious. He would kill you. Come on; let's try to wake him up."

Sai opened his canteen and dumped its contents on the prone boy's face. Sasuke, coughing and sputtering, opened his eyes and glared. "What the hell…" he began before remembering. He jerked upright and shakily ran his hands over his arms and legs.

"Don't worry, they're all gone. We got them all," said Naruto, putting his hand on his shoulder.

"You sure?" he asked softly.

"I promise."

"Thanks," he said, avoiding their eyes, "both of you."

"Apparently, it is what friends do. If you ever get another worm on you again, I will remove it so that you will not be scared."

Sasuke seethed,** "I. Was. Not. Scared."**

"…And that was no damn worm, Aho, it was a bloody leech!"

Sai was about to inform him that a leech was technically a worm when he caught Naruto's stern look. "Of course you weren't scared. You were just surprised is all. I would have screamed like a baby if I found something like that on my nuts." Naruto made a shuddering motion and pretended to gag.

Sasuke gave a small look of thanks then joked, "Baka, it would have to find them first. Leeches don't like raisins."

"Ah, shut it teme. Come on, put your clothes on. I'm starving and I'm sure pervy sage is probably waiting on us by now.

* * *

**~~O~~**

Ayame was cleaning out the closet when she came across a box marked Naruto. She brought it over to Kakashi and handed it to him. With a smile, he opened it up and showed its contents to her. Inside were some of his favorite toys from when he was small, pictures, and some clothes. At the bottom was a letter. Kakashi laughed when he saw it and handed it to his wife.

"I made him write this when he and Kiba were fighting as a punishment when he was around six years old. This was his first try. As you can see, I made him rewrite it."

Dear Kiba,

My daddy said I was bad to kick you in the privits and that I have to write you this note to say I'm sorry. Well I'm sorry that you are a crybaby cuz you hit me first. I still want to be your friend tho. I no that this note won't make it up to you so here is ten whole ryo all for you cuz I can't put a band-aid on it and cuz then you can't pee! I hope you feel better in the morning buddy! I promise not to kick you in the privits ever again if you promise not to hit me.

You best friend,

Naruto

Ayame laughed until her sides ached then picked up the photos. One was of Naruto when he was three. A tear slipped from her eye and she gazed at the bruised and emancipated baby. "Why do you keep this? It's awful."

"I have kept it as a reminder. I was so young when I adopted him. I knew absolutely nothing about kids or how to raise one. I never wanted to forget what could have become of him if there wasn't someone around who cared for him. Whenever I would get angry or frustrated, I would pull it out and look at it. It helped me find my patience when dealing with him."

Ayame wisely said, "Neither one of you need this around anymore. You should get rid of it. He doesn't need that kind of reminder. Keep this one," she said, showing him a picture of Naruto sleeping in his bed with his teddy, Mr. Kuma-chan.

Kakashi laughed, "He took that thing everywhere with him. I remember the first time he ever used chakra to jump. He was playing by himself, must have thrown the bear up into the tree in our backyard, and went to go get it. He jumped up into the lower branches and then climbed up to the top. He got scared and couldn't climb down. I swear my hair turned white that day to see him clinging to that branch and screaming his guts out! He had nightmares every night for a week until he insisted that he climb the tree again and learn how to get down by himself."

"I don't think there is anything that can slow that kid down!"

* * *

**~~O~~**

A very irritated Jiraiya stood waiting when the boys returned with their arms filled with firewood. He took in their bedraggled appearances and laughed. "You boys didn't roll in the mud did you? I wouldn't suggest that around here. The swampy water around here contains nothing but snakes and leeches. You won't be able to bathe here."

"Now he tells us," muttered Naruto.

"Since you all are so slow, I'm going to show you how to improve your speed. Line up and sit down," he said as he gestured to a log. He opened his pack and began to rummage through it, pulling out an ink well and brush.

"Are you going to write us a letter?" joked Naruto.

"Nope, but thanks for volunteering to go first." The Sannin lifted Naruto's pant leg and drew several symbols on his skin with the chakra-infused ink. He repeated the glyphs on the boy's arms as well before stepping back and nodding to himself in satisfaction.

Naruto tried to stand up, but found he couldn't move. "What did you do to me, old man!" he yelled in frustration.

Jiraiya chuckled. "They are resistance seals. They slow your movements down so your body will learn to go faster. You are going to wear them for a week."

"Then you will take them off?" asked Sasuke.

"No," grinned the sage evilly, "Then I will make them stronger."

"But I can't even move," whined Naruto.

"Yes you can. Concentrate."

Sai studied the completed seals on his body and commented, "I am of the belief that this may be some form of child abuse Jiraiya Sensei."

Jiraiya just openly laughed while he drew on Sasuke. When he finished, he said, "You boys go set up the tents while I make some food."

"But I can't even move," whined Naruto again.

"Yes you can. Concentrate or you will be sleeping outside."

Two hours later, Jiraiya's tent was set up. They were about to begin the second tent when the Sannin stopped them so that they could eat. The exhausted boys slumped to the ground and slowly crawled over to their bowls which sat steaming on top of a flat rock next to the fire.

"How are we going to do this?" asked Sai, nodding at the chopsticks.

All three sat in quiet contemplation. Naruto's head jerked up, his eyes alive with mirth. "Guys," he said gleefully, "We need to ask ourselves; what would Kiba do?"

"Why? Who cares?" murmured Sasuke sarcastically.

"What would he do?" asked Sai.

"This!" answered Naruto, shoving his face in the bowl and eating out of it like a dog. He lifted his head, gave a cheesy smile, and encouraged them, "Try it!"

Sai shrugged his shoulders and copied the blonde boy while Sasuke muttered, "Uncouth heathens…as if an Uchiha would do such a thing." His stomach gave a loud grumble of protest. He slowly reached out for the chopsticks and picked them up with one hand and the bowl with the other. His arms moved with an unbearable sluggishness. His stomach rumbled again and his mouth watered at the tantalizing smell that was so close and yet so far away. He inched the chopsticks closer.

…almost to the bowl…

"Can I have some more Jiraiya Sama?" chirped Naruto.

_"Suck up!"_ thought Sasuke.

"Sure thing."

He got food on the chopsticks.

"Me too, Jiraiya Sama."

_"Aho!"_

…almost to his mouth…

"Here you go boys!" boomed out the Sannin.

It fell off.

_"Dammit!"_ he screamed in his mind. His stomach gave an even louder rumble.

Sasuke looked carefully around and wondered if his pride was worth it. His stomach answered for him when it twisted uncomfortably. His face turned bright red as he caught Naruto grinning at him. "If you tell anyone I did this I will have to hurt you!" he said before he lowered his head and ate straight out of the bowl.

"Welcome to the dark side, Sasuke," laughed Naruto, "At least we have food!"

* * *

**~~O~~**

One week later, Naruto sat around the fire contemplating the letter he had been writing all week. It had been one exhausting one and he couldn't stay awake long enough to write a lot. He told his father of the leeches and the seals on his body.

_…you would sure be surprised if you could see me now dad. Raya keeps telling us that we look like we swimming in deep water because we move so slow. It takes forever just to move ten feet. This trip will take us years if we can't figure out how to move faster._

_ …dad, you won't believe what Raya did! He just now told us that we should use chakra in our arms and legs to move faster! I am spitting mad! He should have told us on the first day. It's been three days! THREE STINKING DAYS! Anyways, we are getting our revenge. We stopped at a little village the other day and Sasuke found some passion flower and valerian tea. You remember when you showed me that, right?_

_Anyways, I had Sai gather some dandelion greens and get a watermelon. We're going to make the Pervy Sage a nice little smoothie in thanks for all that he has done to us! He will never know what hit him!_

_Here's a joke for you mom and dad. They say the dog is man's best friend. I don't believe that. How many of your friends have you neutered?_

_Love_

_Naruto_

* * *

**~~O~~**

After receiving his new mission, Kakashi glanced in the direction of Ichiraku. There was no flag dancing playfully in the breeze. With a slight pang of disappointment, he went home to pack.

Ayame was preparing for the lunch time rush when she heard the wet sound of a bubble pop and a croak. Curious, she went to the front to investigate. There was a large, red toad sitting placidly next to the stand. Hiding her trepidation at the slimy creature, she asked, "Are you from Jiraiya Sama?"

The toad gave another loud croak, opened its mouth, and spat out a large package adorned with childish scrawl. She picked it up and ran inside to give it one in return. Throwing it into its mouth she yelled to her father, "Change the flag; it's from them!"

Ayame tore open the package and found the letter that was addressed to her and Kakashi. She stowed it in her apron pocket and put the rest behind the counter for their parents to come get. "I'll be back in a little while dad," she said excitedly and ran home.

Kakashi was just leaving the house when Ayame ran out, out of breath and red-faced from her exertions. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"No…pocket…letter…Naruto…" she huffed while pulling it out and handing it to him.

Kakashi put his bag down, sat on the edge of the porch, and opened the letter. After a few minutes, he laughed and handed the letter to her. "That's my boy," he said proudly. "I had planned on doing the resistance seals soon too."

She read the letter then looked up at him with a question on her face. "I don't get it," she said, "What will that smoothie do?"

"Well," he laughed, "Passion flower and valerian tea make for a nice strong sleep aid and dandelion greens and watermelon individually, will work as a mild laxative but together will give you a pretty explosive case of diarrhea."

"So when he wakes up…?" she said with dawning comprehension.

"Yup…he went there!" he said with a smirk.

"Oh my, remind me to never eat or drink anything that boy makes," said Ayame dryly.

"He is truly gifted."

* * *

**AN**

Well, as you can see, we are in the past. There will be about six or seven chapters covering the training trip, then Waterfall. As a warning, most of these chapters will be short.

I wanted to thank everyone who commented on Broken. I finally hit 1,000 reviews. It's so amazing. I'm stunned... thrilled...ecstatic...! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

P.S.

Passion flower and valerian tea really will make you sleepy and if you eat enough of dandelion greens or watermelon, you'll get the runs! So don't try that at home!

_**AZFAERYDUST**_


	3. Breaking the Silence of the Night

Disclaimer: I do not have the honor or priviledge of owning Naruto. I sadly make no money from it either.

* * *

**_Chapter Three:_**

**_Breaking the Silence of the Night_**

_And I feel just like I'm living someone else's life. It's like I just stepped outside, When everything was going right. And I know just why you could not come along with me. That this is not your dream, But you always believed in me..._

_~~Michael Buble~~_

**One year and eleven months ago**

It was one month since they left Konoha and Naruto and the others were still in the borders of the Land of Fire. So far his trip had been long and boring. The pervy sage had yet to show him or the other two boys any new jutsu. He said that he wanted them to begin after they became accustomed to travel. Secretly, he was a little glad; he was tired. It was hard getting used to the resistance seals on his arms and legs, even after using chakra. Their first spar after removing the seals was a real eye opener though. Their movements were much, much faster.

It was pretty late at night, but the full moon shed a great deal of light onto their campsite. Naruto sat next to the dying embers of the fire with a pad of paper in his lap. Jiraiya would be sending a messenger toad with their letters home tomorrow and he had yet to write anything.

How do you tell your father that you missed him with every fiber of your being and not worry him? How do you tell your new mother that you missed having her arms around you without coming off like a crybaby? Naruto scrunched his forehead in thought and then threw yet another incomplete letter into the coals, watching the newly created flames devour the paper greedily.

The silence of the night was broken by the soft rustle of clothing and the loud rasp of the canvas tent being opened. Sai sat down next to him and stared up at the moon. Neither said anything for a few minutes until finally, Naruto glanced at him and saw the tears slowly making their way unheeded down his cheeks. "What's the matter?"

"I think I may be sick," he said without looking at the other boy.

"You think? What's wrong with you?" questioned Naruto concernedly.

"I don't know. I have never felt this way before."

"Do you want me to tell Raya?"

"No. I'm sure it will pass."

"Well, what is it. You know you can tell me."

Sai surreptitiously swiped his cheek with his hand and stared at the wetness with curiosity. "I have never cried before. It feels strange. I have been having these odd feelings of longing, which are often accompanied by worry and; I don't know, maybe sadness. I do not understand why I am feeling this way."

Naruto nodded sagely and answered the unasked question, "You are just feeling homesick, Sai."

"I am? How do you know that?"

"Because I am too. Tell me, what are you thinking about when you first started to feel sad?"

"I was remembering how my father would always tell me a story before I would fall asleep. He would ask me to smile for him then he would rub his hand on my head and tell me to have good dreams. I had become accustomed to it, I suppose. My mother would also come in, press her lips against my forehead, and whisper to me that I was her sweet little angel."

Even in the moonlight, Naruto could see Sai's cheeks redden a little. It made him feel happy for his usually unemotional friend. "Don't be embarrassed, Sai. I think it's cool that she calls you her little angel. My dad always calls me his little puppy. Believe me, that's way more humiliating." Naruto nose twitched for a second and his eyes flicked to their tent. "You might as well come out too teme. I know you're awake."

Sasuke boldly exited the tent with a huge smirk on his lips. "Aw, the puppy and angel can't sleep…what's the matter with you two babies?"

"Aw shut it teme…or should I say "kitten"… You didn't honestly think I would forget what your mother calls you, Sasuke, did you. We've been friends for six years." He patted the empty space on the log they were sitting on and said, "Come on, I know that you have been a little homesick too. Don't hold a grudge and just join us."

The sneer quickly disappeared from Sasuke's face as he struggled to keep his head held high. He sniffed, "I don't hold grudges. I simply remember facts, baka."

"Whatever. If you're going to act like a turd then go lay in the grass." Naruto rolled his eyes at Sai and then ordered the Uchiha, "Just sit down teme. You're no better than any of us." He threw his arm around Sai and said, "Why don't you tell us something about your family. Tell us what reminds you of them. It might make you feel better."

**~~O~~**

"Snakes…every time I see a snake, I think of home." Sai thought for a moment and then smiled a little. "There was this one time that my father really got my mother really mad. He was interrogating a female prisoner and my mother thought he was flirting with her so she made him sleep on the couch. When he woke up and pulled his blanket off, there were snakes slithering all over him. He yelled so loud that the neighbors called the KMP."

Naruto couldn't help it; he began to giggle at the mental picture of the famous Ibiki Morino screaming like a little girl. He could definitely sympathize; she made her snakes attack him that one time because of a little prank he pulled. Pulling himself back to the present, he encouraged Sai, "What happened next?"

"When they burst into our house, my dad had already killed them all and was just finished bagging them up. My mother had slipped out so when they saw all the snake blood all over the walls and floors, they thought he killed her. They were trying to arrest him when she came in behind them and laughed. She said that if he ever thought about getting too friendly with another woman, she would chop up his snake."

"But Sai… your dad doesn't have a snake."

"I know, but my father's face sure turned green when she said that."

"Tch," snorted Sasuke, "You are both such dobes. She meant this snake," he said pointing down.

Their looks turned from confusion, to dawning comprehension, before finally changing to one of horror. Naruto nudged Sai, "I'm glad my dad didn't marry her. She is one crazy kunoichi."

"Yes, she can be very scary when she wants. She would send them in to wake me up when I would not get out of bed, but still… I miss her. Father is the one I miss most though. He would sometimes take me to work with him."

"You never told us that you've seen the inside of that building. What's it like? Is there really a cage in the front where they hang the prisoners who won't talk? Is there really a rack where they stretch people until their guts come out?" asked Sasuke.

"Not in the front. It's just a bunch of offices. The cells and interrogation rooms are in the lower level and father would not let me go down there."

Naruto and Sasuke's faces fell at the disappointing news. They really wanted to hear about the famed Torture and Interrogation unit of the Black Ops. Naruto then pointed to Sasuke and said, "It's your turn now. Tell us a story."

**~~O~~**

"I'm not telling any stupid story."

"Well, I can tell one then. How about I tell the rubber ducky story?"

"Rubber ducky?" asked Sai with a little snicker. "You had a rubber ducky?"

"Oh yeah, that's a funny one. You see, one time when I was at Sasuke's…"

"NO!" interrupted Sasuke with a yelp, taking a deep calming breath, he said, "Fine I'll tell one, but not that one. You know what Naruto; my goal in life is to hurt you, severely."

"Yeah, you keep saying that teme and one day I might actually believe you. Now tell the story."

**~~O~~**

"Alright, well you remember our first day at the academy and what my father did?"

"Yeah, I remember." It was something Naruto would never forget.

"When I got home, I was scared of my father. Itachi was so busy at Anbu and he barely had time for me anymore, but he came home and took me to the place where we would play when he was younger. He taught me the shuriken jutsu I had been pestering him about. That weekend he took me hunting; just him and me."

"My father tried to stop him, saying it was a waste of time, but Itachi said that an Uchiha never backs out on his word. He wouldn't let my father stop him. It was a good weekend; the best."

"Is that it?" asked Naruto. "I mean, there's got to be more to the story."

"We killed a boar."

"You're a bore!" he laughed and nudged Sasuke.

Sasuke just grunted and said, "Whatever. You tell us one Naruto. Tells us what makes you think of your family the most."

**~~O~~**

"Well obviously ramen for my mom, but what makes me miss my dad the most is whenever I see this scar," he said pointing to the fine white line that stretched across his bicep. Sai shuddered and Sasuke winced.

"How in Kami's name do you consider that a good memory?" asked Sasuke, "You nearly lost your arm."

"Well…"

_Naruto and Sai were sitting at the house waiting for Hayate to arrive and take them sparring. A messenger arrived a half an hour later with a note for the boys saying that he could not come because of a sudden mission. Naruto, being very bored, picked up his tantō_ _and said, "Come on Sai, let's just practice in my backyard together."_

_The other boy protested, "But we are not supposed to use real weapons without an adult present."_

_"Don't be a chicken. It's better to ask forgiveness for doing something wrong than to ask and be told no."_

_"That doesn't sound right to me, whiskers. We were specifically told not to do that. They wouldn't forbid us without good reason."_

_"Are you kidding Aho, they tell us not to do lots of things that make no sense. We are not supposed to go swimming after we eat, we are not supposed to pee on the bushes at school, we are not supposed to pick our noses when we have giant boogers in them; the list goes on. It seems like everyday my dad tells me something else that I'm not supposed to do. What about you?"_

_"Well, my dad did tell me that I'm not supposed to ask people if they are men or women. You've seen some of the people in this village; men with long hair and women with short. If I don't ask, then how will I know?"_

_"There, you see?"_

_"Still…"_

_Naruto ignored Sai's protests and dragged him outside. They began to spar before the inevitable happened. Sai slipped past Naruto's guard and sliced his arm through the muscle. As blood rained down, Sai ran screaming for help._

"Remember how Bisuke came outside and summoned my dad? He was so freaked out. His face turned white and he grabbed me and ran all the way to the hospital. I kept trying to tell him I was all right, but it was as if he couldn't hear me. I guess I passed out because when I opened my eyes he was crying. I thought I was seeing things, but he really was crying over me."

"You were grounded to your room for a month baka. I still don't see how that was a good memory."

Naruto smiled and couldn't quite keep the surprise out of his voice. "He stayed with me the whole time; he didn't go on any missions. He said it was because he didn't trust me not to do something stupid, but that wasn't true. He stayed because he was worried about **me**."

"I miss him, but at least I know what I want to do. Sai, can you draw a picture of us to send to our families?"

"If you want."

"And maybe, can you draw a picture of my mom and dad that I can have?"

Sai nodded. Sasuke stared off into the distance. He bit his lip then finally asked, "Can you do the same for me?"

* * *

**~~O~~**

**Konoha – several days later**

As Kakashi opened his letter, another piece of paper fell out. It was a beautiful inked drawing of Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke. With pride, he handed it to Ayame and finished reading the letter. "He misses us," he said quietly.

She took the letter and read it quickly. At the end she giggled. "He wants you to ask your ninken if they think poodles are members of some sort of weird religious cult."

* * *

**_Omake_**

**_Anko's Apprentices_**

As the last bell rang for the day at the ninja academy, students came running out of the classroom, eager to go home and play. The girls in Iruka Umino's class stayed in their seats, buzzing with excitement. Several minutes passed until the door opened with a bang.

Sakura's mouth dropped as she eyed the kunoichi who strolled in. She was barely dressed! "Do you see that!" she whispered fiercely to Ino.

"Hey girls, I'm Anko."

"She's wearing…" a shrill whistle was the only warning she got as a shuriken barely skimmed over her head, ruffling her hair, and shocking her speechless.

"I haven't given you permission to speak yet, pinky," murmured a chipper voice over her shoulder.

Sakura slowly turned her head to see a second Anko holding a kunai and wearing a very evil smile. She gulped nervously and tried to prevent the irritation from showing on her face. She hated it when people called her pinky.

"Since you like to talk so much, why don't you tell everyone here what being a kunoichi means to you?"

"Oh, uh well," she stammered, "A kunoichi is a very beautiful female ninja who provides support to her team."

"Support?" she asked disbelievingly. She looked at the rest of the girls who were all nodding their heads in agreement. She wanted to face palm, and then she had the strong urge to plant her fist into the face of every instructor in the academy. "Okay, first of all, a kunoichi is never support. A kunoichi is an equal member of the team, even if she occasionally provides support. Your job is to be strong, to be a leader, to be everything. Do you all understand?"

She continued, "One of these days, most of the boys in you class are going to be bigger and stronger than all of you, just like most shinobi you will come across. And guess what? Most will dismiss you as too weak to even bother with." Anko studied the girls in front of her; some like Ino and Sakura, looked pissed. "_Good_," she thought.

She walked to the board behind the instructor's desk and placed three groups of pictures up. Pointing to the photos, she said, "I want all of you to look at each collection and determine who the biggest threat is."

Predictably, the girls choose the biggest male in each group. Anko shook her head disappointedly. She jabbed her finger to the first set. "This is my mother. She was Anbu. These men are civilians."

Taking another set, she pulled the picture of a silver-haired boy down and held it in front of her. "This is Naruto's father, Kakashi Hatake. He was already a very lethal jonin when this picture was taken, the other men are only chunins."

As Anko took another step to the last group, all the girls smirked. They knew they got this one right. It was some of the boys in their class. Anko instead touched the picture of Naruto.

"What! He's not the biggest threat; Sasuke is," protested Ino vehemently. "He just cheats to win."

"Cheats?" asked Anko. She leaned against the desk and listened with growing disbelief to the whiny little girls.

"He grabs my butt," she mumbled, red-cheeked with embarrassment.

"That's nothing, you all saw where he grabbed me!" shouted another girl.

"He punched me in the nose," complained another.

"So," interrupted Anko, "He distracted you and he beat you. Is that what you're saying?" at the muttered assents Anko smirked. "He sounds like a threat to me, and by the way, we are ninja…there is no such thing as cheating."

"Well yeah, but sensei, Sasuke can beat Naruto in a fight so that makes him the bigger threat," said Ino earnestly.

"Hmm, is he really because Iruka sensei tells me that he refuses to fight you girls? Apparently, the Uchiha brat thinks girls are not worth his time."

"That's not true, Sasuke is just a true gentleman," sighed a fan girl.

"Alright listen up," growled the now irritated woman, "An opponent like Uzumaki who will fight regardless if you are strong or weak, or a girl, is much more dangerous. Plus, that boy never gives up and never backs down; something you all need to learn."

"So for today's lesson…" she stood up and said in a loud tone, "Boys, you can come in now."

The girls blinked in confusion as the male members of their class filed into the room with ropes and cloths in their hands. Ino asked indignantly, "Why are they here, this is a girl's only class?"

Anko quipped, "They are here to help me out."

They meekly accepted the vague explanation and allowed themselves to be bound and gagged. When the last girl was trussed up, Anko gathered her belongings, walked towards the door, and said, "See you all tomorrow."

The young students' eyes widened comically and many struggled against their ropes. Muffled shouts of protest halted Anko. She paused next to the closet captive, Sakura and pulled down her gag. "What is it?" she asked innocently.

"Sensei, you can't leave us here like this."

"Why not? You left yourselves vulnerable."

"Well, because…because… Well, you just can't. We have to go home. Our parents will worry about us. We did as you said sensei."

"Oh don't worry," she said breezily and put the gag back on Sakura's mouth, "I already told your parents that you might be spending the night here at school. Oh and one other thing – I never told you to let the boys tie you up." She gave an evil laugh and walked out of the room.

* * *

**~~O~~**

The next morning, Anko was very disappointed to discover that all of the girls were still there and sleeping. She cut all the ropes and announced rather loudly, "What kind of kunoichi do you girls expect to be?! My son could have gotten out of those ropes in twenty minutes."

Ino began to protest behind her gag. She jerked her body only to find out that the rope keeping her attached to the chair was no longer there. As she picked herself off the floor, she hissed in pain as her numb arms began to tingle than burn as they came back to life. "Well, how were we supposed to get out?" she asked waspishly.

"Ooh, there is this shiny, sharp object called a kunai that all ninja carry on them at all times," she replied sarcastically.

"B-But how were w-we supposed to know that y-you were going to d-do this?" asked Hinata timidly.

Anko sternly addressed all the girls, "That was lesson number one. The enemy won't tell you that he is going to capture you. You should always be prepared. Also there is this amazing little thing that they teach here at the academy called the substation jutsu."

"Our hands were tied to our sides," complained Ino.

"Lesson number two: the purpose of hand seals is to focus your chakra. The most difficult jutsu take a lot more seals, but the easiest ones such as what you are taught here at the academy take one. I can do those three with one hand. It will take you all a long time, but it will be worth it in the end. I expect to see you girls better prepared when we meet again next week."

As the girls stood up slowly and painfully, Sakura turned to Ino and said, "I'm scared to find out what the next lesson will be."

"Me too."

"My dad won't let me quit."

"Mine either. He told me that if I even thought of quitting, he would cut off my allowance and I wouldn't be able to go shopping," said Ino glumly.

* * *

**AN**

Thank you to everyone who favorited, followed, and left reviews for my new story. You all are awesome! I just wanted to say that Broken has over 1,000 reviews and in just 6 months! I'm amazed.

I hope you liked my Anko Omake. I was thinking of doing several more. If anyone has some ideas, don't hesitate to let me know and I'll see if I can work it in.

I had someone question me about Sai. He was adopted at a young age and he should have changed his personality because of it. While I pretty much agree, the reason why he is the way he is is because he is super smart and has difficulties being social. Watch 'The Big Bang Theory', I am loosely basing Sai's character after Sheldon from that show.

I am sure you all are wondering when it will get back to present time...real soon! There are only a few more chapters until the events at Waterfall and then their homecoming (Just in time for a very important event!).

Also, I am changing the rating of this fic to M next chapter due to the suggestive nature of what you will read. It will definately be a more mature theme.

Until next week...

Ja ne!

**_AZFAERYDUST_**


	4. Anko's Temple

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto...that being said...

* * *

**WARNING ~ WARNING ~ WARNING ~ WARNING ~ WARNING ~ WARNING**

_**THIS CHAPTER SCARED THE CRAP OF OF ME! **_

_I am currently huddled under a blanket in my bed chanting, "It's not real, it's not real, it's not real!"_

_**READ AT YOUR OWN RISK! THE RATING HAS CHANGED TO M BECAUSE OF IT!**_

_P.S._

_Anko is one twisted woman_

_P.S.S._

_Forgot to add something - girl's thinking it was a genjutsu - so I added it!_

* * *

**_Chapter Four:_**

**_Anko's Temple_**

_What'soever I've feared has come to life_

_And what'soever I've fought off became my life_

_Just when everyday seemed to greet me with a smile_

_Sunspots have faded and now I'm doing time_

_'Cause I fell on black days_

_~Soundgarden~_

**One year, nine months ago**

"And how are my precious little students?" shouted a cheerful voice behind them. "I have the absolute best lesson planned! It's going to occur sometime this week so be prepared because I'm not going to tell you exactly when it will happen. You all will like my little temple. It's a real scream!"

With that said, Anko walked out of the classroom leaving quite a few confused girls behind. "Does that mean we can leave?" asked Sakura aloud.

"Well duh, forehead girl, unless you plan on staying here by yourself!"

"Shut up Ino pig. That sounds scary."

"Ah, she's probably just exaggerating so she can scare you…big baby."

"W-Well I g-guess I'll l-leave too," stammered Hinata.

* * *

**~~O~~**

Sakura was shopping with her mother in the market when it happened.

Hinata was in the clan courtyard pressing flowers when it happened.

Ino was finishing a delivery for the shop when it happened.

None of them were prepared when it happened...

* * *

**~~ Darkness~~**

Whispers.

When Sakura opened her eyes to the flickering candlelight, she discovered she was in some sort of subterranean cavern. There were stairs leading up to a heavy wooden door. Ino and Hinata were lying on their sides beside her. There was no one else there. Sakura walked up the stairs and tried the door. It wouldn't open.

Whispers.

"Who's there?" she called out timidly.

"S-Sakura? Where are w-we?" asked Hinata getting up slowly.

"I don't know. I wonder if this is Anko Sensei's new lesson. This doesn't really look like a temple to me though."

"Then where is everyone else at dummy," snapped Ino.

"Do I look like I know Pig?!" shouted Sakura testily.

Whispers.

"Do you hear that?"

"H-Hear what?"

Whispers.

Suddenly Hinata heard the whispers, and her skin seemed to turn to ice in that instant. It was a wordless hissing, a soft sound, but growing louder by the second. She heard an echoing scream in the distance. "That s-sounds like S-Sachiko," she said.

And then she felt something crawling up her leg.

She reached down, brushed at her leg, and knocked it away.

Shuddering for some odd reason, she walked to the tiny candle, picked it up, and held it up high in the air.

Roaches. Thousands upon thousands of roaches were teeming in the room. They were on the floor, on the walls, on the low ceiling. They were not just ordinary roaches, but enormous things, over three inches long, an inch or two wide, with energetic legs and especially long feelers that moved around anxiously. Their shiny green-brown outer shells appeared to be gummy and damp, like splotches of dark snot.

The whispering was the sound of their endless, continual movement, long legs and quavering antennae brushing against other long legs and antennae, relentlessly crawling and scuttling and bustling this way and that way.

The girls froze. Sakura shakily brought her hand in front of her to make the ram seal. "Release!" she shouted.

Nothing happened.

"Release! "Release! "Release, damn it!" she shouted with a hysterical edge to her voice. Ino copied her.

Nothing happened.

Hinata focused her eyes and shouted "Byakugan!"

"They're real," they said in dismay as one.

Sakura screamed. Ino screamed. Hinata tried to scream, but no sound came out.

The roaches shied away from the candlelight. They were evidently subterranean insects that survived only in the dark. The three girls quickly realized this truth and looked up at the meager little stump of a candle. They heard another terrified scream in the distance bouncing off the walls.

Sakura grimaced, "That sounded like Momoka."

The whispering grew louder.

More roaches were pouring into the room. They were coming out of a crack in the floor. Coming out by tens...by scores…by hundreds… There were a couple of thousand of the repulsive, sickening things in the room already, and the chamber was no more than fifteen or twenty feet on one side. They piled up two and three deep in the other half of the room, avoiding the light, but getting bolder by the minute.

Sakura and Ino whimpered helplessly. In that moment, shy quiet Hinata changed, like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis. "They are beetles," she said firmly, "They are nothing but subterranean beetles."

"R-Roaches," insisted Ino.

Hinata handed the candle to Sakura and grabbed Ino by the arms. She forced the petrified girl to look into her eyes. She said slowly, "You listen to me, Yamanaka…They are beetles. They are only beetles. Repeat it to yourself, over and over if you have to."

Ino nodded then began to chant, "They're only beetles, they're only beetles, they're only beetles…"

She took the candle from Sakura white-fisted grasp and said the same to her even though she was just as horrified as they were.

They were still gushing from the hole, a writhing, squirming, putrid mass.

They mounted up on one another; five, six, and seven deep, covering the walls and the ceiling, endlessly moving, swarming restlessly. The quiet whisper of their movements became a roar.

Suddenly, the roaches moved toward them. The strain of them piling up on top of each other finally caused them to spill at her like a breaking wave, in a roiling green-brown mass. In spite of the candle, they surged forward, hissing.

The girls screamed and started up the steps. Ino pounded on the locked door, shrieking for help which did not come. They looked back down at the bottom of the steps. Just the sight of the humming mass of insects made them all gag with revulsion.

They chanted together, "They're only beetles, they're only beetles, they're only beetles…"

The candle sputtered…

"They're only beetles, they're only beetles, they're only beetles…"

The room below looked as though it was waist-deep in roaches. A huge ocean of them moving back and forth and hissing in a way that it seemed almost as if it were one living thing down there, one grotesque being with thousands of legs and antennae and hungry mouths.

The candle sputtered…

"They're only beetles, they're only beetles, they're only beetles…"

Behind them, the whispering in the dark cavern grew louder with each shattering thump of their hearts. Some of the insects were crawling up the steps despite the light. Two of them reached Hinata's feet and she stomped on them. More came.

The candle died…

For a brief moment, the whispering seemed to stop, but then it grew even louder then before.

Hinata felt a few on her ankles, and she quickly bent down and brushed them away. One of them scurried up her left arm. She clapped a hand on it, squashed it. "Sakura," she said sternly, "Break that damn door down."

A roach dropped from the ceiling, onto her head. With a shudder of revulsion, she plucked it out of her hair, and threw it away.

Sakura screamed as she felt them crawling under her clothes. "But…but…I can't. I've only been able to do it once. It's hard to focus."

Ino continued to scream with her hands clamped over her mouth and nose to prevent the roaches from crawling in.

Hinata slapped the pink-haired girl lightly. "I believe in you, Sakura. You can do it. Now show us what a fine kunoichi you are and break down that damn door. Now!"

Abject fear was squashed as the fire returned to Sakura's eyes. She ignored the creepy, repulsive feeling of the insects touching her body. She focused her chakra in her hands, cocked her arm back, and slammed her fist into the door. It was reduced to nothing but splinters.

"Get them off, get them off, get them off!" screamed Ino, stripping off her clothes and running in circles.

Sakura began to sob as she took off her own clothes while Hinata calmly pulled off the roaches from their bodies. She then took off her own clothes and shook them out. She hugged both girls and soothed their terror.

"I hate that evil woman," wailed Ino while Sakura patted her comfortingly.

"I really don't like Anko Sensei right now either," admitted Hinata with a guilty flush.

"What?!" shouted a familiar evil voice from above them, "What do'ya mean, you don't like me?" asked Anko.

They looked up and saw her standing on a tree branch above them. She jumped down and pulled out a pocket watch. She clicked her tongue when she saw the time. "How many times do I have to tell you girls to always be prepared? I mean, you could have easily picked the locks. The other girls managed to do that."

"Hey, we got out!" yelled Ino.

"True, but what happens if Sakura isn't with you? What then, hmm?"

Ino and Hinata looked down with a blush. It was true. Without Sakura, they would still be in there.

"Ooh, that reminds me, one group hasn't made it out yet, so I guess I should release them from the temple." She ran off with a cheery wave.

"Hinata," said Sakura timidly, "You were the one who really saved us, not me. I just wanted to say…thanks."

"Me too, Hinata. I'm proud to call you my sister," added Ino, "The both of you."

* * *

**AN:**

In case you are thinking this chapter somewhat mirrors the incident with the boys and the leeches, yeah I know. It didn't occur to me until I was done writing it, but I liked it too much to scrap it. Yeah, it's also has kinda a Temple of Doom thing going on here too (Awesome movie, btw). So now the girls are close, I mean come on, if you can survive something like that with another person - you gotta be tight! (Picture the Harry Potter/Troll scene!)

Did anyone else have to pick up their feet from the floor after reading it, or was that just me?! lol

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed/favorited/followed my little tale.

Next chapter is much longer, I swear(over 6,000 words)! I just had to put this out first.

Please don't hate me for writing this, what can I say, my mind's not broken - just bent!

Ja Ne

**AZFAERYDUST**


	5. The Princess and the Circus

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and sadly do not make any money from it, which I find to be infinitely sad, depressing, gloomy, miserable, cheerless, heartbreaking, distressing, heartrending, tragic, dreadful, appalling, and wretched. Ah well, what can you do...

* * *

**_Chapter Five:_**

**_The Princess and the Circus_**

_We hold together_

_We put up with each other We stick together No one will slow us down_

_~Rammstein~_

**Eighteen months ago**

Jiraiya hurried through the chaotic streets towards the hotel where he and the boys were staying. He couldn't believe his luck. He entered the building and hurried up the steps towards their room. After unlocking and opening the door, he paused for a moment to gaze at the boys sleeping on their futons. Sai looked as though he hadn't moved all night. He was lying on his back with the blanket neatly tucked around him. Sasuke's bed was almost as neat. He looked so innocent, lying there on his side with his palm tucked under his cheek.

Jiraiya looked fondly at his godson last. Naruto…that was another story. He was lying across all three futons with his feet in Sasuke's face and his head on the other half of Sai's pillow. The Sannin swallowed a chuckle as he recalled what his purpose was.

"Wake up!" he boomed out, "All of you, wake up now. Come on, I need your help."

All three were instantly awake, but made no move except to open their eyes. "Why?" muttered Sasuke, burying his head under the covers. "You said that we were staying here for several days."

"Yeah," agreed Naruto with a huge yawn. He looked at the clock and gasped, "And it's two in the morning, Pervy Sage. What's the big deal? Why are you waking us up now?"

"I found her! You boys need to help me complete this mission."

"Found who?" murmured Sai sleepily.

"What, the lady that the Hokage asked you to find?" asked Naruto.

"Yes," said Jiraiya impatiently, "that lady; she's here in this town right now. I caught site of her in a casino down the street."

"So what are we supposed to do about it anyways? We're all just a bunch of kids," asked Sai while rubbing his eyes and sitting up. "Nobody listens to us and besides, I would rather sleep." With that said, he promptly lay back down, closed his eyes once again and fell back to sleep.

"Me too," added Sasuke.

Jiraiya looked at them in consternation before leaning down, grabbing Naruto's hand, and hauling him upright. "You'll do," he said while dragging him out the door.

"But I'm not dressed for going outside," whined the blonde chibi.

Jiraiya joked, "It just makes you look cute and innocent."

"Hey," shouted the offended boy, "I'm not cute and innocent. I'm a ninja!"

"Yeah, yeah…just hurry up." The Sannin hurried the boy out of the hotel and into the street. Naruto was surprised to discover that, as hot as it was during the day, the night had turned downright freezing. He pulled his button up pajamas closer to his body and huddled closer to his godfather in effort to stay warm. He occupied himself by watching his breath come out in puffs. They turned down another street. It was lined with sleazy bars, stripper joints, gambling dens and others places that were a mystery to him.

He gaped at the bright neon signs and flashing lights that advertised peep shows and massage parlors. There were men standing around wearing brightly colored outfits. It suddenly occurred to Naruto where they were.

"The circus! Are you taking me to the circus? When I was at the academy, Sakura told everyone that her parents took her to one. She said there was an animal as big as a house called an Elephant. I want to see one too, Raya." He excitedly tugged on the Sannin. "Please Raya? Please, please, please," he begged. "Look, there's even a clown," he said pointing to a woman wearing a lot of make-up and very little in the way of clothes.

"This isn't a… That isn't a…" he sputtered and then amended, "I mean, uh…you know what, maybe later."

The meaning of some of the billboard come-ons at the worst bars baffled him. He asked, "What do they mean when the sign says, 'Get a peek at the pink'? Are there girls in there with pink hair like Sakura? Can we go look at that?"

"Um, yeah. Never mind that for now. Just close your eyes; don't look at anything," replied the suddenly nervous man as he realized where he was taking the boy. He gripped the boy's hand with a firmer grip and said, "Stay with me, whatever you do."

Jiraiya groaned to himself; Kakashi was going to kill him.

Naruto's eyes bounced everywhere in fascination. "Hey, look at that! Let's go there. What's a full frontal?"

"Uh…umm…don't ask kid. And no, we are definitely not going in there. Please, please, please Naruto, just close your eyes gaki."

They passed a brightly lit place with flashing orange and blue bulbs and rippling bands of red and pink neon, where the sign promised LIVE SEX SHOW.

Really grossed out, Naruto cautiously asked, "Are there other shows where they have sex with the dead?" He thought to himself that maybe he wouldn't mind staying cute and innocent after all.

Jiraiya laughed so hard, he almost ran into a gawking bystander. "No, no, no. Even this place wouldn't go that far. Now please; for the love of Kami, close your eyes. We're almost there."

Naruto didn't listen… couldn't listen, there was just too many fascinating things to see. He stared at the half naked women lounging against the building and the scary looking men guarding the entrances, and wondered at what they were doing. A young man stepped in front of Jiraiya, pointed at the boy and asked, "Where'd you get that one?" He put his hand on Naruto's face and caressed his cheek. "I want him when you're done."

Jiraiya hissed in disgust at the man's perversion. He yanked Naruto behind him, cocked back his arm and punched him in the face. They man flew back, his body making a sickening crunch when he made contact with the building behind him.

"Hey, that was really neat," said Naruto as the man twitched. "Can you show me how to punch that hard?"

The Sannin rolled his eyes, casually stepped over the body and continued on without a backwards glance, still dragging the wide-eyed boy. "Some other time, gaki."

"But what about that man…?"

"Don't ask," Jiraiya muttered grimly.

The pulsating music from an open door caught Naruto's attention and he turned his head to look. A naked woman was dancing against a pole. He tugged his godfather's hand and asked, "Why do they do that?"

"Who?"

"Those women who do that," he said pointing at the girl.

"They got a farm in Iwagakure," Jiraiya said.

Naruto gaped at him.

He laughed at the chibi and said, "I'm sorry. Sometimes I forget just how young you are." He squeezed the boy's hand. "There are some things you don't need to know about yet, but I can tell you about other things."

He blinked. "Then there isn't a farm in Iwagakure?"

"No, or at least I don't think so!" he joked, "No, but seriously; some of them are slaves, some are just poor women who do it to make money, and some do it because they want to."

"But why do they do it? Is it like my sexy jutsu and make men act funny?"

"Yup, that about sums it up nicely."

At last they stopped in front of a large casino. Jiraiya handed the man in front some money and began to pull Naruto inside.

He widened his eyes when he saw where he was going and protested, "I'm not allowed in there. My dad says I'm not supposed to gamble or drink. He'll totally kill me if he ever finds out I went into a place like this."

"Believe me kid, we won't tell him…ever. Also, you are not going to be gambling or drinking. We need to talk to someone. Now keep your mouth shut until I tell you too."

* * *

**~~O~~**

Jiraiya looked around until he found what he was searching for. He led Naruto over. "Tsunade, fancy meeting you here. You're looking as beautiful as ever." Jiraiya slid into a booth where a young, busty blonde haired woman sat drinking sake. He indicated for the boy to sit across from them. Naruto rubbed his eyes and yawned wide then did as he was told.

She seemed a little wary at seeing the Toad Sage, but responded, "Jiraiya, I haven't seen you in a long time. What have you been up too, you old goat?"

"Oh, just passing through…"

She glanced at the boy with a question in her face. Naruto tiredly laid his face on the palm of his hand and closed his eyes. She finally said, "I never would have thought this was your thing…pervert."

"It's not like that at all, Tsunade. Look closely at him; look at his face. I know you know it. This is my student, Naruto Uzumaki."

"Uzumaki?" she peered at him in wonder and mouthed, "Kushina."

"Yes," he said, bowing his head sadly. "Kakashi has been taking care of him. He's not had an easy life." Jiraiya's face turned serious. "Listen Tsunade, I've come to ask you to come back to Konohagakure. Sensei is getting old and tired. He wants you to take the hat."

"Are you crazy?" she shouted, waking Naruto. "I swore there was no way in hell I would ever come back. Who wants to be Hokage? That's a thankless, horrible position for a thankless, horrible village. Only an idiot would do it."

"Being Hokage is the greatest honor and if you can't see it then you don't deserve it," growled Naruto, "Don't you dare insult the old man or my village. Why would you want her, Pervy Sage?"

"What do you know about it, you little brat?" she yelled back.

Naruto slammed his hand down and growled, "I know that I'm going to be Hokage someday lady! I'm going to a powerful, respected leader of the village."

The unbidden images of her dead little brother and ex-fiancé flashed through her mind causing pain. "That's nothing but a stupid pipe dream kid. Grow up and face the facts."

The furious, insulted boy swiped his hand across the table, sending her sake crashing to the floor. "A dream is not stupid! What's stupid is spending your life gambling and drinking. You're the one being stupid, granny!"

"He doesn't mean any harm, Tsunade. He's just a kid. His father would never forgive me if I let you kill him," said Jiraiya hastily as he saw the look in her eye.

"My sake," she growled. "You're dead meat!"

In irritation, she flicked Naruto with her finger, sending him sailing across the room and into the bar. Bottle crashed down, pouring their contents all over the boy. He stood up and furiously marched back to her. "You wanna fight? I can take you!"

"Bartender, bring me another bottle of sake!" she yelled and she slammed her hand on the table. A loud ominous crack reverberated in the now silent room. With a loud crash, the table split in two.

The owner of the establishment hurried over. "You owe me for damages. Pay up and then all of you get out!"

Jiraiya pulled out his wallet and threw money at the man's feet. He grabbed Naruto with one hand and Tsunade with the other. "Come on," he muttered, "Lets finish this somewhere else."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" she yelled and yanked her hand out of Jiraiya's.

"I'm thinking this says you will," commented the Sannin as he pulled a sheaf of notes from his pocket. He handed them to her. "I've paid all of your debts in those villages," he said nodding at the paper. "All I ask is that you give me the opportunity to change your mind. You travel with us for one year and if you still don't want to go home, then so be it. I know that you would not like owing me."

"What makes you so sure that I will change my mind? I could leave right now."

"I don't, but Hiruzen believes that a part of you wants to return home. He misses you." He looked deeply into her eyes and added softly, "I miss you."

Knowing that she had no other choice, Tsunade reluctantly said, "Fine, I'll tell Shizune. She can go back to Konoha for the year while I am with you."

Naruto kept silent during the exchange. _"This isn't over,"_ he thought.

* * *

**~~O~~**

Naruto woke with the feeling of being watched. He cracked one eye open. Sai and Sasuke were looking at him in extreme disapproval.

"We know you're finally awake dobe, get up."

He flashed them a grin then asked, "What's got your panties in a twist, teme?"

Sasuke's eye twitched. "You went drinking with Jiraiya last night didn't you? Don't lie, I can smell you. You smell like you showered in alcohol last night."

Naruto sat up and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "That's because I was!" He ducked the punch Sasuke sent him and leaped on the Uchiha, wrestling him to the floor. "I didn't break our promise not to drink like the pervy sage, I swear. A bunch of alcohol fell on me."

Sasuke stopped struggling. "You better be telling the truth or I'll kick you ass baka."

Naruto let him up and then asked, "What time is it anyway?"

Sai answered, "Half past nine."

"What! Why didn't you guys wake me earlier? I have got so much to tell you! Do you guys want to go to the circus…?"

* * *

**~~O~~**

It took a half an hour of searching, but he finally led them to the area he had been to last night. It looked very different. The degeneracy was shocking to Naruto, who had begun to think of himself as experienced and mature since his travels began with the Sannin. In the bright light of day, what was once flashy and fascinating was now dirty, run-down, and frankly a little scary. "Umm, guys…I think I might have been wrong. I don't think this is the circus. I think we should probably get back to our room. Look, even Sasuke looks tense."

The boy glared at Naruto for suggesting that he might be scared. "I'm not tense, baka. I'm just…alert - very alert." He eyed a brightly dressed man who was walking towards them. The man looked very disreputable despite the harmless smile he sent towards them. Sasuke's suspicions proved correct several minutes later when the man began to speak to Naruto and Sai.

"Not lost are you boys?" he asked them.

"No, my friends and I are perfectly aware of our current location," replied Sai.

"Are you maybe looking for a little extra pocket money then?"

"Money?" asked Naruto, perking up. Jiraiya was always taking their money to 'hold'. "We want money. What do we have to do?"

"Oh, it's easy. You just have to make friends with some people I know."

Sai commented, "Repeated exposure makes you like someone better – and makes that person like you better, too. You're much more likely to become friends with someone if you see him or her often."

"Oh yes. I know of someone who would like to see you very often. All you have to do is smile and be a nice little boy."

"I have read that the amount of time you smile during a conversation has a direct effect on how friendly you're perceived to be and can help you make friends easier," added Sai. "It might be a worthwhile endeavor to meet your friends so that I might practice creating new bonds of friendship."

He started to take a step closer to the man, but Naruto and Sai grabbed his arms and pulled him back. "No Sai, you can't go with him," sighed Naruto, wising up. "I swear I don't know how someone so smart can be so dumb sometimes."

"Yes, well, I'm polymerized tree sap and you're an inorganic adhesive, so whatever verbal projective you launch in my direction is reflected off of me, returns to its original trajectory and adheres to you."

"What are you saying?!"

The weird man stepped forward and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get out a word, Sasuke interrupted, "We don't need your opinion, now shut up and let the grown-ups speak."

He threw his hand in the air and angrily sputtered, "Grown-ups…you're nothing but a couple of kids. I'll have you know…" He didn't finish what he had been about to say as a shuriken whizzed past and pinned his shirt to the wall. What's worse, it happened so fast, he had no idea who threw it.

"He's saying," Sasuke calmly continued as though he hadn't been interrupted, "I'm rubber, you're glue. Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you."

"Aho, you read too much."

"You kids are insane!" said the man while he struggled to pull the deeply imbedded shuriken out of the wall.

"I'm not crazy," said Sai, "My father had me tested."

"They probably got the wrong results," sniggered Naruto.

"No, I do not believe so. My mother had me retested."

The man internally debated with himself for several minutes. Indecision weighed heavily on him. There was something about these children that screamed "beware" but he had rarely ever seen an adult ninja, and never a child. He asked himself a question he would forever regret; "What's the worst thing that could happen?" He yanked the shuriken out and moved forward.

"Aho, can't you tell that something isn't right here. We're not letting you go anywhere with this man." Sasuke faced the man and sneered, "We are not 'nice little boys'; we are ninja."

"Yeah, sure you are! Well then, I'm sorry to say this, but my boss wants you three. You are coming with me." He looked over their heads and nodded at the men who had tried to sneak up on the boys.

Naruto lifted his brow at Sasuke and said, "Really?" when he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder.

Sasuke snorted then muttered, "Pathetic."

Sai asked, "So am I right in assuming that they are not looking for friends?"

Naruto put his hand on top of the large one that was touching him. "Eh, they're just perverts. Let's teach them that they can't mess with the Trilogy of Terror." He gripped the hand, shifted his body, yanked hard, and flipped the man over his shoulder. Sasuke and Sai did the same.

Sasuke calmly walked over to the prone man and stomped on his hand saying, "Don't you ever dare to put your unworthy hands on an Uchiha ever again."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Teme, you're not all that!"

"It's okay if you disagree with me. I can't force you to be right."

Sai interrupted, "Perhaps you two should settle your quarrel later. In case you have not noticed, they are getting up."

"Well, some people never learn," said Naruto with a grin.

Sasuke smirked at the men. "If at first you don't succeed, you should destroy all evidence that you tried, right brothers?" He began to form hand seals, but Naruto shoved him hard.

"No jutsu against civilians. You know better. Let's just kick their asses the old fashioned way."

"Right!" agreed the other two boys, leaping. They attacked with ferocity; pummeling the men until they couldn't move any longer.

"I told you not to touch us," said Sasuke to the cowering pervert who had approached them first. "If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning." Sasuke gave a short hard jab to the man's face.

"The Yakuza will not like this. They will get revenge!" he squealed and covered his head with his arms.

"Tch, you tell them to bring it on. I'm not afraid."

"Me either!"

"Nor I."

* * *

**~~O~~**

When they arrived back at the inn, Tsunade was there. She was drinking sake again. Naruto defiantly stared at her, still unhappy with her comments about the Hokage and his village. She glared back.

Sai and Sasuke, surprised to see the normally happy-go-lucky boy looking so angry asked, "Who's that?"

"That's the old hag who's going to be traveling with us. The one the Pervy Sage was looking for."

"HAG!" shouted Tsunade, getting up and crossing the room. "Just who are you calling an old hag?!"

"Well, you certainly aren't young!" shouted Naruto back. He made the ram seal and transformed using the sexy jutsu. "This is young!"

Tsunade was not impressed. A vein in her forehead throbbed. She used her finger to flick him across the room yet again.

Sai studied Naruto dispassionately for a minute before saying, "You know it would have been more effective if you would have just hit him on the ears."

"Who are you?" she asked sarcastically.

"I am Sai."

"So what do you want?"

"Nothing. I was just saying that if you slap your palms down simultaneously over your opponent's ears, keeping your palms slightly cupped, you will create a pressure shock that can disorient your opponent, and in the ideal scenario, rupture the ear drum, ending both his equilibrium and the fight in a single blow?"

"What do you know about the ears?" she asked sarcastically.

Sai quoted, "The human ear has three main sections, which consist of the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. Sound waves enter your outer ear and travel through your ear canal to the middle ear. The ear canal channels the waves to your eardrum, a thin, sensitive membrane stretched tightly over the entrance to your middle ear. The waves cause your eardrum to vibrate."

Sai continued, "Were you also aware that the human heart has its own electrical impulse and it can continue to beat even when separated from the body as long as it has an adequate supply of oxygen?"

"What are you," she interrupted, "a human encyclopedia?"

"There is no such thing as a…"

"So do you know how to tell when someone is going into shock?" she asked, suddenly very interested in the boy.

"The presentation of shock is variable with some people having only minimal symptoms such as confusion and weakness. While the general signs for all types of shock are low blood pressure, decreased urine output, and confusion these may not always be present."

Tsunade looked back at Jiraiya; who had just joined them, in surprise. "I think I like this kid. Maybe traveling with you all for a little while won't be such a bad thing. Shizune is a master medic now and I wouldn't mind getting a new apprentice."

"Well that's good. Listen, we really need to head out." He turned to Naruto and said, "Pull yourself out of that wall and stop playing around."

Naruto shot him a dirty look. He brushed the dirt off his clothes and glowered at the Sannin.

Jiraiya chuckled fondly at the boy before he turned back to the woman and continued, "I really could use your help with a quick little side trip I need to make."

"Where?"

"Takigakure; the Village Hidden in the Waterfalls."

* * *

**~~O~~**

**Back in Konoha, a week later…**

Anko stood at the counter at Ichiraku and read the letter with growing disbelief while Ibiki looked at it over her shoulder. Kakashi and Mikoto were there as well, reading their own letters. Sakura just arrived to get hers when the Ayame asked, "Is Tsunade is really coming back?"

Anko suddenly screeched. "I'll kill him!" she shouted. She shoved the letter at Kakashi. "Read this!"

Kakashi's eye widened and turned cold. "It's a good thing Tsunade is coming back to Konoha because we are going to have a little spar with Jiraiya when he returns."

"What happened?" asked Ayame.

"The boys visited a red-light district."

Sakura peeked at the adults and saw Mikoto's eyes turn red and spin in their sockets, Ayame finger her heavy metal serving ladle, and Ibiki's scarred face change to the most horrifying expression. She looked at her letter in confusion…he made no mention of a red-light district.

_I'm having a great time here. I got to go to the circus and I saw four clowns try to take on three ninja. It was really funny. I wish you could have seen it. I didn't get to see any elephants though, but I did see this contortionist woman on a pole. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it before._

_Sai, Sasuke, and me figured out a new way to mess with the Pervy Sage and granny Tsunade today while we were traveling. We tied jingle bells to all of our clothes and then we sang the whole 99 bottles of sake on the wall song…three times! Yup, they sure were annoyed, but that's teach them to spend the day in a bar, ignoring us. Can you believe that idea was actually Sasuke's? There's hope for him yet!_

_By the way, when we were in village a few days ago I saw that they had dog food for constipated dogs. That blew my mind. I say that if your dog is constipated, why would you want to screw up a good thing? Keep them indoors and let 'em bloat!_

_Ja Ne_

_Naruto_

* * *

**~~O~~**

**The next day**

As the last bell rang for the day at the ninja academy, students came running out of the classroom, eager to go home and play. Many girls in Iruka Umino's class; however, went a different way. The school training field was their destination. With more than a little trepidation, they inspected the wooden teaching dummies that dotted the grassy area. They had learned the hard way that with Anko, nothing was what it seemed.

None of the girls had ever seen a dummy that was so life-like before. It was a tall man with waist-length, spiky white hair tied back into a pony tail, with two shoulder-length bangs that framed both sides of his face. Sakura stared at the dummy for quite a few minutes with a frown on her face. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something very familiar about it. She thought that maybe she had seen such a man at the market before. The red lines that ran down from his eyes also seemed to tickle her memories and the wart on the left side of his nose was definitely familiar. Who was it?

Sakura fingered the green short shirt kimono and matching pants before she finally asked, "Does anyone know who this is supposed to be? I just know that I should know who it is."

Hinata suddenly laughed. "It's the Toad Sannin, Jiraiya. Sasuke told me all about him in his letters.

"Yeah, I think you're right, Hinata. Naruto says he calls him the Pervy Sage," she added with a giggle. "So how is Sasuke?" she asked in mild curiosity. "Naruto mentions him occasionally in his letters."

"Oh he's fine. He misses home sometimes, but he says he is getting stronger everyday. He also said that Sai and Naruto are as well." Hinata hesitated, "He says that Naruto talks about you all the time. He really likes you Sakura."

"Yeah, I know. I mean I know that he can be a real knucklehead sometimes, but he can be so sweet too. He says that Sasuke really likes you too." She said that without any rancor in her voice. After the "fear exercise" in Anko's Temple, the girls spent a lot of time together. They found out the truth. Ino and Sakura were bitterly disappointed about Sasuke, but couldn't be mad at Hinata. The past several months with Anko had done everything to create an unshakable bond between the three girls, especially the more events. The Temple was so horrifying, so traumatizing, and so extreme that they became the best of friends. There was no way she or Ino could ever harbor any bitter feelings towards Hinata. They were young after all; they moved on.

"I made us something," said the shy Hyuga softly. She opened her bag and took out three soft fuzzy hats. Sakura got a pink one, Ino a purple, and a blue one for herself. They looked carefully around for any of the enemy (a.k.a. a boy) and removed the current hats perched on their heads and replaced it with the new ones.

Ino rubbed her head and moaned, "I miss my hair. I still cry sometimes."

"You're not alone Ino-pig. I miss mine as well."

Hinata agreed sadly, "Me too."

"And how are my precious little students?" shouted a cheerful voice behind them. "I have the absolute best lesson planned!"

* * *

Ino cringed.

Sakura whimpered.

Hinata nearly fainted.

* * *

Anko's face showed no surprise at the steadily decreasing amount of students that she met with each week. In truth, what did surprise her was the amount that stayed. She started out with fifteen and was now down to six. _"Hmm,"_ she thought, "_I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that I shaved their heads three months ago? Well, I did tell them that it would help with their 'aerodynamics' and 'wind sheer' reduction!"_

_"Nah, it's probably just because the ones that left were weak, useless little fan girls. Then again, it could have been that little episode with my snakes."_

_"...Nah, couldn't be that, after all, who would be scared to be locked in a dark room with a thousand snakes for a few measly hours?"_

"Umm Anko Sensei?" asked Sakura when her teacher gave a decidedly wicked laugh, "What are we doing this week?" All of the girls attention was now fixated on the table next to Anko. It was filled with an assortment of weapons, many of which they had never seen before.

"Ah yes, girls, I have a very fun assignment planned for today." The girls looked at each other in weary acceptance of their doomed fate as their sensei began to lecture them about all the weapons. Anko picked up a short sword and walked over to one of the 'Jiraiya' dummies, "You all need to know how to defend yourselves with whatever type of weapon you come across. Some lousy, mouth breathing, knuckle dragging, worthless bag of beaver dung, good-for-nothing pervert old hermit might try to drag you to places for which you are too young and innocent to be seeing.

Ino mouthed, _"Worthless bag of beaver dung?" _at Sakura and Hinata. They both shrugged and covered their grins with their hands.

"Who knows what that zit on the ass of life," continued Anko, "putrescent mass of walking vomit, festering pustule on a weasel's rump whose life is a monument to stupidity, might do next, buy you a prostitute?" ranted Anko without taking a breath. The girls watched wide eyed as she ranted, "That scum-sucking, perverted old geezer is probably a spineless little worm deserving nothing but the profoundest contempt."

"What's a prostitute?" asked Ino.

Sakura responded, "Don't you remember 'the Talk' from last year?"

"Oh yeah, 'The Talk', I remember now… eew that's so gross. But Anko Sensei wouldn't that scum-sucking, vulgar maggot of an old geezer what to make us prostitutes? I mean, why would he want to buy us one? What would we do with her?"

Hinata and Sakura had to turn their heads to avoid having Anko see them laugh at the way Ino was trying to incite her further.

"Uh yeah…that's what I meant to say. Anyways, that's why you need to know how to defend yourselves and really hurt that green-nostriled, crossed eyed, hairy-livered inbred frog-defiler so that he will never try it again to you or your sweet little angel baby."

"Angel baby? Who's the angel baby?" asked Hinata.

Sakura wasn't the class genius for nothing. It finally clicked; what got their Sensei so riled up…the letter…

"SAI! SAI Morino IS YOUR SON!" Suddenly she felt a bit stupid for not seeing it before. She had always assumed Anko was just another person who went to Ichiraku to hear Ayame read the letters Naruto sent. She had always figured that it was because the woman was a friend of his dads.

"Sakura," explained Ino patiently, "Her name is Anko Mitarashi, not Morino."

"No, no, she's right," said Anko, still pacing back and forth agitatedly in fury, she added, "I'm married to Ibiki. I just kept my own name."

_"That explains so much about Sai,"_ thought Ino. "Wait…you call Sai…Sai Morino from our class, Sai the artist, your sweet little angel baby?" asked Ino disbelievingly. She shared a devious smirk with her friends then snickered and whispered, "Sweet little angel baby…"

"Aaaawww, how cuuute!" chorused the girls.

"I can't wait till he gets back and tries to call us hag or ugly again!" exclaimed Ino. She rubbed her hands together with a devious look.

"Me too," agreed the other two.

_"Aw crap,"_ said Anko to herself. "Girls that was just a slip of the tongue; if I hear that that little faux pas of mine making the rounds at the academy, I might get a bit upset. As a matter of fact, I might get so upset that I might have to make you all do the fear exercise again. Everybody remembers that one right?"

* * *

Ino cringed.

Sakura whimpered.

Hinata nearly fainted.

* * *

Anko smiled. "Ah good, I see you do remember; back to today's lesson." She pulled out a small battery powered shaver and turned it on. The humming sounded so loud in the girl's ears. "Does anybody want to know guess what the losers of today's training receive?"

Every girl there shrank back and eyed the clippers with a touch of horror and resignation.

"But Anko Sensei, our hair is finally starting to grow back," whined Sakura.

"Ah Sakura, Sakura, Sakura…you don't have to worry about the hair on your head. The clan heads asked me not to do that again."

"...have I told you what beautiful pink eyebrows you have?" laughed Anko maliciously.

* * *

Ino cringed.

Sakura whimpered.

Hinata nearly fainted.

* * *

Anko walked over to the table and grabbed a short sword. She leaped at the dummy and began to hack and stab at its lower regions. "Squeaking diseased rat, a mistake of nature...!" She then threw kunai at the eyes and hacked the head off, while muttering, "Drooling inbred cross-eyed toe sucker, degenerate spawn of a bandy-legged hobo and a syphilitic camel."

When she stepped back from the destruction, all that was left was a pile of splinters. "Does anyone know a good fire jutsu?" she asked pertly while breathing heavily.

"Yo. I might know a few that are pretty handy."

"Kakashi, glad to see you accepted my invitation." Anko took a deep breath to calm down and finish her instructions, "Girls, go get an assortment of weapons and have fun! I want to see nothing but kindling when you're done."

Sakura walked up to the table to inspect the weapons. Something unusual caught her eye. It looked a bit like a kusarigama (sickle and chain), but instead it had a wicked curved dual bladed knife attacked to it. She picked it up, walked a safe distance from everyone, and twirled it around her body. Words couldn't describe the beauty of it to her; it felt like an extension of her body, something alive, flowing, and undulating, with a snakelike quality to it. She loved it.

"Sensei, please…can I keep it?"

Anko noted the reverence in the girl's face and smiled. It was one of her favorites as well. "It takes a lot of practice to use it effectively, Haruno, but I believe you are capable of it."

Kakashi strolled over to one of the dummies and studied it for a moment. "Mah, they're very realistic. I must congratulate you. May I?"

"Please do!"

Kakashi stepped closer to it. He clenched his hand as the sound of a thousand chirping birds filled the air. Every girl in the class stopped what they were doing to watch the elite ninja systematically destroy the dummy. None had ever witnessed a ninja of his caliber perform before. They saw the dummy electrocuted, stabbed, pummeled with water, crushed with a massive earthen wall, and than burned to an unrecognizable mass in seconds. The girls simply stared in shock at the raw display of power. Anko quickly got their attention back to their task at hand by waving the clippers in the air and cheerfully asking, "Who's first?"

At the end of the lesson, the winded girls were each handed a piece of paper for their parents to sign. It was for their next lesson…a camp out…

"That sounds like fun," chirped Sakura. "Where is training ground forty-four?"

* * *

**AN:**

"Yes, well, I'm polymerized tree sap and you're an inorganic adhesive, so whatever verbal projective you launch in my direction is reflected off of me, returns to its original trajectory and adheres to you." - that's from The Big Bang Theory - couldn't resist!

The scene at the red-light district is from The Watchers. I pretty much copied a part of it because the sex with the dead was too funny to pass up. I pictured Naruto asking that question and just had to put it in...sorry!

First off, big huge thanks to** cookiemonster77 **who helped me alot with this chapter especially Anko's part!

Another thanks to **Yautja's Blooded Pet **for the suggestion a while back about Sai nearly getting sold into the skin trade!

**Hahaheeha, **thanks for the help too. I think Sai will be great as a medic.

Last, but not least, **JuzzyA** - hope this one's long enough for ya buddy!

To everyone that has reviewed/ followed/ favorited my little story - Thanks. You all are awesome! Hopefully, I didn't offend anyone with this newest chapter!

**AZFAERYDUST**


	6. The Village Hidden in the Waterfall

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, yada, yada, yada...

* * *

Happy Fourth of July everyone! What better way to celebrate our nation's independance than to stay indoors and read! lol -

seriously though - it's almost 110 degrees out... I hate Arizona...

* * *

**_Chapter Six:_**

**_The Village Hidden in the Waterfall_**

_So close no matter how far  
Couldn't be much more from the heart  
Forever trusting who we are  
And nothing else matters_

_~Metallica~_

**Thirteen months ago**

Naruto wiped the slick moisture from his brow again. _"How can it be so damn hot?"_ he thought to himself, _"It's not even summer yet."_ The weather had been abnormally hot lately, even for the Land of Waterfalls. It was so hot; he was starting to worry that his brains would broil in his skull. He readjusted his pack and slowly trudged on. The resistance seals had just been made stronger yet again this morning. He felt the constant drain on his chakra pulling at him. _"Pervy Sage is a sadist," _he thought, sending a dark look at the man he still admired greatly.

He was so thirsty. They all were. As he unconsciously put one foot in front of the other, he wondered if he would fall. He didn't want to fall. It was a matter of pride. Jiraiya told them this leg of the journey would be difficult, but he thought nothing of it. Now he knew differently.

Tsunade was walking next to Sai. She had been talking to him about mind numbingly boring medical jutsu during their travels, but they too had fallen silent to conserve their strength.

Sasuke was next to him, blindfolded. He was working on expanding his senses. Every now and then, Naruto would toss a rock at him to screw with him. That teme always seemed to sense it though. Sighing, Naruto pulled the rubber ball from his pocket and tried to pop it using his chakra. So far, he had no luck. The water balloon was definitely easier.

"I hear water," said Sasuke, pulling off his blindfold. He looked around, searching for proof of what he had sensed. He thought he smelled the faint hint of minerals and lake weeds, but all around them was tall boulders and rising canyons. Everything was dull and brown. Scabby parched weeds dotted the ground. "Was I wrong?" he asked aloud, beginning to have doubts.

"No; it won't be long now," responded Jiraiya wearily. He wasn't used to traveling through this miserable part of the country so slowly. The sun crushed heavily on them the whole way; even when it turned an inflamed, turbulent red at sunset, it shined defiantly down through the hills to their left, blinding them. Every drop of sweat inching down their burning skin pained them.

The coolness of the canyon they entered made them sigh in relief and a half an hour later, they all heard it. The rumble of water; sweet life giving water…

Naruto licked his parched lips and walked faster, nearly tripping over his feet in his haste to see this miracle. The next turn opened into a wide green field. A mammoth lake sparkled in the sun and drew them like moths to a flame. They dunked their heads into the cool refreshing water and drank deeply. As he lifted his dripping face, he stared in awe of the waterfall.

The huge column of water seemed to stretch endlessly into the sky. In truth, Naruto thought the clouds were touching the tip of the mountain. The roar of the water drowned out all other sound as they shouted to be heard over it.

A watery haze shrouded the entire area due to the power of the falls. Droplets of water and the rays of the sun merged in a passionate embrace to create a rainbow bridge that sliced the sky above and came diving down into the lake below.

All three boys gasped in wonder at the sight. It looked as though they could reach out their hands, touch the seven-colored miracle, and feel the airy fragility of this bridge in the sky.

"It's amazing," said the unusually hushed blonde boy. He sighed contentedly, catching the fresh spray on his face. "Can we get in for a quick dip, please Pervy sage?"

"No, we are here."

Sai looked around intriguingly. "I don't see any village."

"That's because it's hidden Aho," replied Sasuke sarcastically.

"So how do we get in?" asked Naruto.

"Right through there," replied Jiraiya, pointing at the pounding water, "Just follow me." An instant later, he and Tsunade leaped at the base of the waterfall and disappeared.

"At least we're getting wet," shouted Naruto enthusiastically before following the Sannin.

It was a strange thing to blindly leap through the air, not knowing where the ground was. The pounding waters blinded him, so when he felt something snatch him from the air and wrap around itself around him in a tight grip; he gave a small squeak of fright. A deep chuckle reverberated against his chest and a familiar voice teased, "Scared gaki, or did you step on a mouse?"

Naruto, beyond humiliated, blinked the water from his eyes and scowled. "I wasn't scared, Pervy Sage, that was just my…my sandal. It's wet."

"Mm hmm," he said doubtfully and then set the boy down. Tsunade caught Sasuke in her arms and Jiraiya grabbed Sai. Neither one seemed surprised at being caught in the Sannin's arms which caused Naruto to scowl even deeper.

Once Naruto eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, he was surprised to discover he was in an enormous cavern filled with small water filled holes. Sai and Sasuke stood beside him glancing around curiously.

"Pay attention boys," said Jiraiya, shaking them out of their reverie. "Some of these holes are traps and some are dead ends; either way, you'll drown if you choose to go in the wrong one."

They trailed him over to a bean shaped one, which he dove into. Naruto took a big breath and followed. It seemed like he swam forever in the twisted underwater tunnels; his lungs burned for oxygen. Just when he thought he wouldn't be able to hold his breath much longer, there was a light ahead. He furiously kicked his legs and broke though the surface of the lake, taking huge gulps of air. Sai and Sasuke bobbed up next to him an instant later doing the same.

Directly ahead was the biggest tree the boys had ever seen. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary tree, like one of the thousands they had seen in their travels, but there was something special about this one. They felt something odd. The tree seemed almost sentient. "Wow," they whispered.

Naruto tugged on Jiraiya's arm and quietly asked, "What is it?"

"You can feel it, huh? It's a very special tree; it creates the Hero's Water."

"What's that?"

"Later," he said, "We have a very important mission right now." Jiraiya and Tsunade climbed to the top of the water and walked across the lake towards the tall man that stood at the edge. The boys, remembering the why they were there, assumed somber expressions and hastily followed suit.

The man rushed forward to the Sannin. Worry was evident on his face. "Jiraiya, thank Kami you came. Is this Lady Tsunade? I am the village's jonin leader, Shibaku. I wish I could give you a proper greeting, but time is of the essence."

"That's alright," interjected Tsunade, "Show me and my apprentice where they are. Until I discover the nature of the disease these people have, I want the rest of you to stay away."

Sasuke and Naruto exchanged concerned looks with Sai and nodded. They nervously watched him leave with the slug Sannin. Jiraiya clapped his hands on the remaining boys and drew them away. They walked towards a large house that stood in the middle of the village. A very old wrinkled lady came out and greeted them, "Jiraiya-boy, nice to see you again."

"Have you got room for a few extra, old mother?" he asked fondly.

"Of course," she beamed while ushering them inside.

* * *

**~~O~~**

Tsunade and Sai made their way to the makeshift infirmary that had been quickly erected after most of the townspeople began to fall ill. The village was too small to support a hospital and had only two healers. Things were looking very dire.

Tsunade stopped at the entrance of the rough wooden building and grabbed two masks from the table that stood beside the door. She handed one to Sai before entering.

The scroll detailing the medical emergency didn't prepare Sai for what he witnessed. The odor of decaying flesh hit his nostrils through the mask, making him feel instantly nauseas. Most of the victims had open, weeping sores all over their bodies.

A small child lay in the first bed. She was crying out for her parents in a hoarse, raspy plea that went unanswered. Her pitiful cries filled his heart with pity and sorrow. He stood there, trying to take deep even breaths to calm himself. Tsunade took his hand in hers and gave him a quick reassuring squeeze. "We are here and we will help them," she said encouragingly.

Sai stood up straighter. In a firm voice, he asked, "What do you want me to do?"

She handed him a bag. "You can start by gathering samples."

* * *

**~~O~~**

Naruto and Sasuke couldn't help but love the sweet old woman immediately. She fed them and tsked over the worn state of their clothes all while keeping a running commentary about the village and its current state of emergency.

Since they were going to be there for quite a few weeks at the least, Jiraiya set up a training schedule for them. As he handed them the scrolls, Naruto studied his with a frown on his face. "Umm, Pervy Sage…when am I supposed to sleep?"

"Right here," he said, pointing out the four hour slot.

"Four hours? That's all I get?"

"Eh, it's just for the week. It's combat training."

Naruto frowned for a minute before brightening. He pulled a scroll from his bag and held it towards his godfather. "Can you send this to Sakura?" he asked, "It's almost her birthday and I wanted her to have these jutsu."

As Jiraiya took it, Sasuke scoffed, "Why would you give that away?"

Naruto growled, "Don't even say it teme. I got it from Kikujō when we were in the Land of Vegetables. It's mine to give and besides, it's just a bunch of flower jutsus; who better to have it than Sakura."

"Isn't it rather dangerous to use your entire vocabulary in one sentence?"

"TEME!"

"BAKA!"

"Alright you two, knock it off!" Jiraiya put the scroll away and then stepped between the boys. He made a shadow clone to lead Sasuke over to one corner of the training field while he led Naruto to another. "It's time I finished teaching you your father's jutsu."

Naruto had been feeling off all evening. He felt anxious and jittery for some unknown reason. At first he thought that maybe he was worried about Sai, but when the boy joined them that night, he still didn't feel any better. It wasn't long before he excused himself to go to bed. Sai and Sasuke followed him soon after.

When they entered the room several minutes later, they found him sitting on the window seat, staring pensively out into the night. "Honestly baka, what's wrong with you? You better not say 'nothing' because we know better."

Naruto turned and gave them a perplexed look. "I really don't know. I feel weird, I don't know…like something's about to happen. Something big."

"What, like something dangerous?" asked Sai.

He hesitated before answering. "Yes…no, I don't know."

Sasuke considered Naruto's words before responding, "I would think that if something bad was about to happen, Jiraiya or Tsunade would feel it too. Just forget about it for now and go to sleep."

Naruto nodded with a little reluctance. He stripped down to his boxers and laid down on the futon to sleep for the night. The other boys had just settled down when he bolted up and clenched his chest as if in pain. Seconds later, their door was kicked down and young woman with short spiky mint-green hair ran into the room. Her wild orange-colored eyes searched the room until they fell upon Naruto.

Before they could even pull out weapons to defend themselves, she shouted, "You! Is it you, isn't it?"

"Is what me?" asked the confounded boy.

"It is you!" she said as though in shock.

Jiraiya came running into the room, and then abruptly halted at the sight of the woman. "Fū, what are you doing in here? I heard you weren't expected back until sometime late tomorrow."

She gave a small respectful bow and then asked, "Is he really…?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Chōmei," she said simply.

The boys sent baffled looks at each other then scrambled out of their beds as she suddenly gave a loud, excited whoop, raced forward, picked up Naruto, swung him around in a circle, and kissed him full on the mouth. Jiraiya laughed and sent a wink to the blonde. He strolled out of the room, leaving them alone with the crazy kunoichi.

Sasuke held out a kunai and demanded, "Leave him alone!"

Naruto just stood there in a daze when she sat him down. She turned to Sasuke and asked derisively, "What do you care what happens to him? You probably hate him."

"Tch, I don't hate him, he's my best friend."

"And mine as well," interjected Sai.

"Friend?" she snorted. "Yeah right, nobody is friends with a Jinchuriki." She added sullenly, "Everybody knows that they are monsters."

"Hey," shouted Naruto, "I am not a monster."

A look of comprehension crossed Sai's face. He said, "A monster is an imaginary creature that is typically large, ugly, and frightening. While I might agree that Naruto is ugly, he is neither large nor frightening."

"Hey!" yelled Naruto.

"That is sarcasm…" he added smugly. "I've been working on it."

"Keep working on it Aho," muttered Naruto.

"Who are you and what do you want?" demanded Sasuke.

"She is obviously a Jinchuriki, I mean really, are you always this ignorant?"

Naruto ignored their squabbling as he looked at her in wonder. "Are you really? Is that why I've been feeling weird today?"

"Yeah, I felt it too, the closer I got to Takigakure. Chōmei, my bijū, felt your presence and warned me."

"You talk to it?"

Fū smiled and asked, "You don't?"

Naruto gave her an odd look at that statement, not knowing how to respond. In truth, it had never occurred to him that the Kyuubi would actually be capable of speech. The mere idea of it made him feel a little apprehensive. Sasuke and Sai seemed to feel his anxiety and moved close enough to brush their skin against his.

Fū noticed their subtle movement and was taken aback by what it implied; something she had thought impossible. "So these two are really your friends?" she softly asked in astonishment. "And they know what you are?"

"Yeah, they're my best friends and brothers."

Fū managed to shock boy boys into utter silence as she ran up to them and gave them the same greeting she had given to Naruto. Sasuke was not able to mask the red flush that crept up his face as the beautiful girl hugged him tight against her breasts and kissed him on the mouth.

* * *

**~~One week later~~**

Sai's hands glowed green over the little girl's chest. She coughed weakly then gave him a shy smile. "Where's your mommy at?" she asked.

"She is at home in Konohagakure with my father."

"Do you miss her?"

"Sometimes."

"I miss my daddy and my brother. They're not allowed to come in here because they might get sick too. I miss my mommy too. She used to talk to me, but then she didn't say anything. She just stopped and I don't know why. The doctors took her away yesterday and she hasn't come back." Her eyes filled with tears. She grasped Sai's hand with surprising strength and implored him, "Can you bring back my mommy to me?"

"I…I do not know." He wanted to say or do something to make her feel better, but was at a loss as to how. He patted her hand awkwardly and said, "There, there. Please do not leak fluids from your lacrimal apparatus."

"W-What?" she sobbed.

"Don't cry. It makes me feel uncomfortable."

"But I'm s-sad and sc-scared. What should I d-do?"

"Well, whenever I feel that way, I try to do something that makes me happy or I talk to my friends. They will usually make me feel better. I guess you can tell me what makes you happy."

"The sun always makes me happy," she said weakly. "But everything is so dark now and I'm scared of the dark. My mommy makes me happy too. She is very pretty and nice and…" she faltered as another harsh barking cough cut off her words. Blood dribbled down the corners of her mouth while she tried to catch her breath. "I don't like being sick."

"Lady Tsunade is one of the greatest medics in the world. She is finding a cure and you will get better. Soon, you will be able to play in the sun again."

* * *

**~~O~~**

A thick black strand of sweat-soaked hair fell in his face again. Sasuke impatiently shoved it aside as he tried to summon enough chakra to do the great fireball technique one more time. Panting heavily, he took another deep breath, made the horse and tiger seal, and exhaled an enormous inferno.

He held it as long as he could before the flaming ball sputtered out. Sections of the rocky mountainside wall were still glowing red from the intense heat, while other parts were burnt black. He knew he was pushing himself too far, but he wanted to be the best. He was an Uchiha and it was expected of him. He stumbled to the ground as extreme weariness overtook him.

"Well, that was stupid," teased Jiraiya dryly. Sasuke gave him a sour look as the Sannin continued, "Do you even have enough chakra to get back to the house now?"

Sasuke used his meager supply of chakra to lift his arm and throw a kunai at the smug man. Jiraiya easily dodged it and then, with an amused laugh and wave, dispelled himself.

"Stupid clone," he muttered to himself before taking a drink of water. As he was lowering the bottle, he heard her approach. Because Fū was related to the village leader, she was not hated by everyone but she was feared by them. She never had any friends, so for some odd reason, she instantly liked the three boys. She told them that they were her new little brothers and made it her goal in life to treat them that way. Naruto loved it, Sai was bewildered by it all and Sasuke was annoyed… a little.

"Fū," he greeted warily.

She ran up to the boy picked him up and glomped him. He gave a scowl and tried to push her away, but she just cheerfully laughed and tousled his hair. "Did you miss me cutie-pie?!" she asked impishly.

"Will you stop calling me that already? I am a shinobi, not some little child." he hissed as he tried to regain his dignity. "You are more annoying than the baka sometimes. You're a jonin, so you should act like it."

"Aw, you say that, but you don't mean it! And besides, you're not a shinobi yet."

"Yes, I do mean it!" Sasuke huffed and sat back down. "So how was your mission?" he asked, knowing it was useless to discourage her.

Fū answered, "Boring. How has your training been?"

He pointed at the wall behind him in answer.

"Very nice little brother," she complemented.

"Of course, I am an Uchiha," he said self-importantly.

Fū, stuck out her tongue, slapped him upside the head, and then pulled him to his feet. "Come on, little brother," she said in a chipper voice, "Stop being so conceited. I'm starving and you get the honor of buying me lunch."

"Oh joy."

* * *

**~~The Rasengan~~**

Naruto stood in the field next to his summoned clone. _"This time,"_ he thought, _"This I'll do it for sure!"_ His hands were aching and bleeding from all the chakra burns and explosions, but he never gave up. He bet Tsunade that he would finish it in a week so that she would stop trying to stomp on his dream of being Hokage. He had to do it. He had to show her that he was smart and capable. He had to show her his will of fire. _"One more time,"_ he said to himself again. _"This I'll do it for sure!"_

Thrusting out his palm, he gathered his chakra until a glowing untamed mass appeared. The clone's hands rotated around it until it became a violent sphere in the center of his hand; a shriek emanated from the glowing blue chakra. "Rasengan!" shouted Naruto as he slammed it into a nearby tree, sending splinters and chunks of wood flying.

He stood staring at the crater in the tree. With a loud crack, it toppled down and slammed into the ground, the vibrations tickling the boy's feet. "I did it! I did it! I knew I could do it!" he shouted ecstatically.

The noise in the field dropped as all the other clones stopped training to look at the fallen tree. A rush of noise filled Naruto's ears as the clones began to shout and cheer. He turned to the tall Jiraiya clone next to him and said, "I've got to go show granny!"

* * *

**~~O~~**

Sasuke and Fū were sitting alone at the food stand when he asked her, "Why did you lie to Naruto?"

"What are you talking about?"

"When you said that the Nanabi, Chōmei was your friend, you lied. I could tell."

"You're just a kid, you wouldn't understand."

"I am not a kid, I'm a shinobi. Tell me the truth."

Fū studied Sasuke for a minute before answering. "Being a Jinchuriki is a curse. It leaves you with a hole in your heart. Chōmei and I get along all right, but we can never be friends because I resent it too much. It is because of the beast that I am feared and hated for the power contained within me. As I said, you can never truly understand what that feels like."

Sasuke sneered, "You think I don't know what that feels like? My father was a traitor. It was kept quiet, but there is no such thing as a secret in a ninja village. I am looked at as a son of a traitor by some." His voice grew louder as he got angrier, "The rest of the villagers see me as only an Uchiha. There are so many expectations placed on me. They no nothing of me or who I am. I understand Naruto better than anyone can."

"I lied to him because I don't want him to be hurt. He has been blessed with friends to fill the hole that the Kyuubi caused. It is a struggle to keep the bijū contained. I want him to have hope that it is possible. I have heard that some Jinchuriki have been able to befriend their bijū and control them." Fū leaned close to the boy and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Naruto is really lucky to have you as his friend. How I wish I had it too," she whispered regretfully.

"You are our friend, Fū."

* * *

**~~O~~**

In the dim light of the tavern, two old friends sat in companionable silence for a brief moment. The last of the villagers had finally been healed and all that was left was to wait for them to rest to recover fully and get their strength back. Tsunade had left Sai in charge at the infirmary. "This place could really use a hospital," she said ruefully. "It would have saved lives."

"Thankfully, you came along. Much more than three would have lost otherwise."

The flickering candle between them sent fluttering moths of light against the numerous sake bottles. The man gave a slight jerk as one of his clones dispelled then leaned back against the booth with a proud expression on his face followed quickly by a smug one.

The woman, catching the telltale gleam in his eyes demanded, "What is it?"

"Oh, I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise."

"You do know, I hate surprises."

"This one is pretty special."

"What is it?" she demanded again.

"It's coming right now," he said with a nod to the opening door. A bright yellow streak of sunshine slammed in the old man with hurricane force.

"I did it! I did it! I told you I could do it!"

"Yeah," Jiraiya laughed, "I was there gaki, remember?"

Naruto swiftly turned to Tsunade and said, "I told you granny! I told you I could do it! I win the bet."

The slug Sannin's eye twitched and her fist clenched. "What have I told you about calling me that?!"

"Yeah yeah, but a bet's a bet," he said.

Tsunade had no idea how it happened or when it happened, but somehow during their travels, that bold, irreverent little brat wormed his way into her cold heart. There was just something about him that made her want to bet on him.

* * *

**~~O~~**

Sai stepped outside and sat down on the cool grass next to a tree. It took nearly a week, but Tsunade was able to isolate the disease and create an antidote. He helped her inoculate everyone in the village. They would survive. For days, he had used chakra techniques taught to him by the Sannin to help alleviate their symptoms and prolong their lives. For many, it brought them back from the brink of despair and gave them hope. For some, it was too late.

The little girl didn't make it.

_"Mitsuku, child of the light,"_ he thought bitterly as he took a pad of paper from his pack and some paint. _"What a lie." _He began to draw her face; one that was free of the disease that killed her. When he was done, he didn't feel better. He didn't find the peace that often came over him when he was doing what he loved. He was about to crumple up the paper when it was taken from his unresisting fingers.

Tsunade sat down next to him. She said not a word as she patiently waited for the boy to figure out what he needed to say.

"I thought she was getting better," he finally said without looking at her.

"I know."

"She didn't get better."

"No, she didn't."

"Her father and brother are unhappy now."

Tsunade nodded and said, "It's very hard to lose your loved ones."

"I too am unhappy. Why do I feel this way? What is the purpose of it? I am a ninja, I shouldn't feel anything. People live and people die; it's a part of life. I don't like feeling this way."

Tsunade put her arm around the boy and said softly, "Oh Sai, we all must know the pain of loss, because if we never knew it, we would have no compassion for others. The terrible pain of loss teaches humility to our prideful kind and has the power to soften uncaring hearts and to make a better person of a good one."

Sai was silent while he considered her words. "She is finally with her mother now, Sensei, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is."

"I think I can be content with that in time."

She handed the drawing back to the boy and asked him to finish it. After careful consideration, he resumed his painting with more emotion than before.

* * *

**~~O~~**

Everyone in the village came to the graveyard to say their final goodbyes. Sai stood next to the small plot where they laid the little girl to rest. Her mother was next to her. They were together again. His chest felt tight and heavy. There were no words that came to his mind to say so he simply laid the picture on the casket and walked away. It was his way of saying goodbye. Naruto and Sasuke both put their arms around him.

"That was a nice thing to do," commented Sasuke.

"Yeah," agreed Naruto, "It was."

The man who had been silently grieving picked it up and smiled through his tears. He clenched it tight to his chest for a moment then showed it to the young boy who looked so achingly similar to his sister.

Mitsuku was held in the arms of her mother. They were so happy.

They were laughing in the sun.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Tsunade and Jiraiya were also at the funeral paying their respects when the leader, Shibaku approached them. "Milady, I just got an urgent plea for aide. It seems some of the lower villages have been stricken with the same disease."

**~~O~~**

Tsunade packed her things and left to travel to the other villages. She left Sai to continue looking after the weakened people. Jiraiya hastily departed the next day, due to unforeseen circumstances in the nearby country of Amegakure. He had a very important meeting with one of his contacts.

As he stood near the lake with his packed bags, he informed the trio, "Continue with your training and help the villagers as much as you can until I return. I should only be a week or two at most. When I return, we will leave for the SummoningIslands."

"What about Lady Tsunade?" asked Sai.

"She has agreed to return to Konohagakure when she is done."

* * *

**~~One Week Later~~**

The sun was burning high in the sky when they stopped their training to have lunch. They were practicing some of their more destructive jutsu, so they were not in the village. Instead they were at the base of the falls beside the massive lake. They were halfway through eating when a rustling in the nearby bushes alerted them to danger.

Sasuke hissed, "Shut up and listen…"

He yanked out his giant windmill shuriken while Naruto and Sai stood alert and ready with their kunai in hand. An injured woman stumbled towards them with two young children. Sai grabbed her as she fell. "Please help…There's been an attack," she gasped out.

Sai pulled out the shuriken embedded in her back and healed the wound. "How many are there?" he asked.

"I…I don't know, maybe eight or ten. It happened so fast." She began to cry feeling useless and fearing the worst. The children held on to their mother in fright.

"Shh, it's okay lady," comforted Naruto, "We'll handle it."

"But you're just children!" she wailed.

"No," said Naruto gravely, "We are shinobi."

* * *

**AN:**

Thanks to cookiemonster77 for her help - you rock

Sorry, but I had to cut it off here due to complaints when the chapter becomes too long.

To all those who have been asking me when the time will get to the present, I'll say this, there are three events that are important and have to be included. I am not certain how many chapters it will take to write them. Most of it is integral to my character development. Even though the boys will be 12/13 when they return to Konoha, they will be shinobi - no longer children. There will be great changes to their characters as they grow. I had a guest comment that there was too much of the girls, however I believe that they need their characters developed as well or it would seem jarring and surreal when they are reintroduced. Please have patience...we'll get there together!

Just thought I would share a fun little Naru/Saka fic I found. It's called Treasure by DayoNight7. Check it out while your waiting for my next update.

As always, thank you for the reviews/favorites/follows! Even if it's just 'update soon' - nothing encourages a writer more than getting feedback.

Ja Ne

**AZFAERYDUST**


	7. The Battle at Waterfall

Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto...Still so sad about it...

* * *

**_Chapter Seven:_**

**_The Battle at Waterfall_**

_It's okay if you don't have an answer; just keep searching for it.__  
__That's right; it is time for us to act like adults.__  
__I wish to tell you this right away, but my trembling wouldn't stop,__  
A__nd my heart, with the worst timing, is now screaming at me to run away._

_~Hemenway~_

The trio approached the lake cautiously after telling the woman and children to head towards the nearest village. They removed the resistance seals from their arms and legs to be ready. Naruto and Sai were about to leap into the waterfall when Sasuke unexpectedly threw himself on top of them.

"What did you do that for," hissed Sai while spitting dirt out of his mouth.

"Someone's coming," whispered Sasuke. He leapt from the ground and jumped into the ankle-deep water. Seconds later, several men came through the waterfall. It was obvious by the look on their faces that they were not expecting to run into the boys.

One of them shouted, "We can't have them getting help!"

Another grinned maliciously as he reached into his pouch. "I've got it," he said.

A rain of kunai headed straight for the trio. Sasuke was ready. He pulled out his fuma shuriken, opened it, and threw the massive weapon with precise accuracy. The demon wind shuriken jutsu easily knocked the smaller hurling kunai off their incoming path and headed straight towards the men.

The four men broke apart and prepared to block the shrieking missile, but were surprised when it split into two shuriken, each going in another direction. Three of the men were hit, but the last managed to get away in time. He escaped through the entrance behind the falls.

"He's going towards the village!" shouted Naruto, "We've got to stop him."

"Be careful Naruto. Watch yourself," said Sasuke in a low undertone.

"Funny, I was about to say the same to you…" Before anyone could stop him, he recklessly rushed into the waterfall after the man. Sasuke smothered the urge to strangle the impulsive boy and quickly followed with Sai right behind him.

Inside the cavern, they caught a flash of Naruto's orange top as he disappeared into the water filled tunnel. The speed with which he moved was almost a blur with the seals now removed.

"We better hurry," he urged and jumped in after Sai. He swam as fast as he could and was able to catch up to Naruto before they broke through to the surface of the lake. As their heads popped up, Sasuke grabbed his arm and hissed, "Calm down before you get us all killed baka!"

"But they're in danger. We've got to help them."

Sai calmly pulled himself out of the water and walked across the surface. When they were all standing on the bank he said, "We can't help anyone if we just run into the situation blindly. We need a plan."

Sasuke had an uneasy feeling as he looked around. There were no signs or sounds of a struggle. Something was wrong. Just as he was about to warn them, two men and a woman attacked him. He flipped out of their reach and into a crouch.

Crossing his fingers, Naruto made four shadow clones and attacked using his own versions of a technique he had learned from Rock Lee. The clones shouted "U – ZU – MA – KI" with each kick sending the rogue ninja into the air. After the last clone kicked, Naruto jumped up and nailed him with a rotating heel drop, shooting him to the ground with a bone jarring thud. Dirt from the impact flew all around, blinding him for a moment.

As the air cleared, the man tried to lift himself from the small crater but quickly fell back with a groan.

"Sai!" shouted Naruto.

"Already on it," he yelled back. Just finishing his drawing, he murmured, "Super Beast Scroll."

Ink snakes slithered off the paper and over to the incapacitated man. They sinuously wrapped themselves around the shinobi and squeezed tight. He tried to struggle, but couldn't escape their powerful hold.

Sai began to draw again. This time, huge lions leapt off the scroll as he completed the jutsu. They roared with bestial fury and assaulted the kunoichi with their razor sharp teeth and claws. One of them managed to slash her across the midsection. She fell to the ground in a large splash of water.

"Water clone," he muttered with a sigh.

Sasuke was left with the last person. He was a hulking man with long green hair and a broad blunt face. He almost looked as though he were carved from stone. His huntsman's eyes were black and steady. In a cold voice with a rusty rasp, he tried to demoralize Sasuke. "I'm going to kill you, little boy. Your own mother won't recognize you by the time I'm done with you," he taunted.

Sasuke muttered, "Tch, you're pathetic."

He dodged the man's fists with a quick roll, then jumped up and flew through the familiar hand seals of his best jutsu. He took a deep breath and released the great ball of fire which engulfed the man. As he landed, a thick water whip wrapped itself around his upper body.

A woman's voice cooed in his ear, "Not bad kid."

Sasuke cursed himself as he thought, _"I didn't even sense her presence. She is good." _He quickly looked around and noticed that Sai and Naruto had been drawn away and fighting with different ninja. He was about to use an escape jutsu when the woman electrified the whip. As the lightning coursed through his body, he jerked back and forth before passing out.

The new man that faced Naruto was deceptively thin. He tried to use the shadow clone jutsu again, but his opponent was too strong. He easily dispelled them all. Naruto leapt high in the air to kick the man in the face but he was able to deflect the blow. He quickly shoved his hand into his pouch; a single shuriken abruptly fanned into many like a deck of cards. Suddenly he whipped his arm around and the shurikens were flung through the air and into the man's thin chest.

The lean whippet of a man laughed and said, "That kinda tickled." His thin mouth was pinched in anticipation of the taste of ground up Naruto. He smashed his fist into the blonde, slamming him backwards. "It's gonna take more than a little bitty toy like that to fuck me up, boy." He pulled the sharp weapons from his body leaving bloody holes, which he seemed to not even feel.

Naruto attacked again but it became immediately apparent that it would not be easy. Several ferocious blows that would have broken the neck of a smaller man only seem to make the man angrier. He pulls out kunai by the handful, a storm of jagged steel racing for Naruto's flesh.

Naruto blocked some of the shuriken, but missed many more. The kunai struck muscles, tendons, flesh. He swung around, still trying to attack, but many more raced towards him. An instant before they could bury themselves into his flesh, a large earthen wall rose up and blocked the attack. A sigh of relief escaped Naruto's lips. He pulled the kunai out and stood up shakily. "I need some breathing room Sai," he called out.

"A minute's about all I can do, whiskers," shouted Sai back.

Sai slid his tantō out and attacked the large rogue Mist ninja. He hit his opponent under the chin with the hilt of his sword. Then he rapidly kicked him three times, sending him flying into the air. As he plummeted to the ground, Sai appeared where the man was about to fall and hit him as hard and powerfully in the gut as he could. His opponent crashed into a nearby boulder, got back up, shook himself off and rushed Sai.

Naruto moved his hands through the forty-four practiced seals, knowing it was a big risk to use a jutsu he had just barely learned. The water rushed out of the lake in a spiraling funnel before it started to lose its shape and collapse in on itself. He gritted his teeth and focused his chakra harder. A huge dragon's head with glowing yellow eyes emerged.

"Come on! Come on! Come on you stupid thing!" He ground out urgently, "Water… Dragon… Jutsu!"

All those hours his clones spent learning the technique finally paid off. He strained with all his might until the roaring torrent of water slammed into the man and threw him into the air. It opened its maw wide and swallowed him whole before rushing back into the lake.

Panting heavily, Naruto jerked his body in a full circle, looking for his other friend. He saw him being carried away by the enemy. "Sasuke!" he yelled as he ran after him. "I'm coming!"

Sai grunted in frustration as he saw Naruto running towards the center of the village. Using every ounce of stealth he possessed, he went in a different direction to sneak through Takigakure. "I'm coming my brothers," he murmured to himself.

* * *

**~~O~~**

Fū and several of the other villagers who were well enough to fight positioned themselves to face the remaining enemy shinobi. They did nothing as the enemy's leader Suien, held the leader's son, Shibuki in a headlock with a kunai pressed tight against his throat.

Shibaku stood before the leader of the rogue ninja. His body was stiff in anger and fear. "Release him Suien," he demanded. "You were a jonin of this village. How could you betray your countryman like this?"

"Give me the Hero's Water and he won't have to die."

Shibaku eye's darted about, analyzing the situation. Suien was once an elite jonin and a trainer of the village. Although a strong and powerful jonin in his own right, he knew he was no match for the rogue shinobi. He felt the weight of the Hero's Water against his chest and hesitated for a brief moment. The risks were very dangerous indeed.

Suien jerked the kunai closer to his son's throat causing a thin red line of blood to seep down. Anger and protectiveness overtook his survival instincts. He pulled a jug of water from his shirt and took a swig from it before Suien could stop him. His chakra levels jumped so high, it became visible. In a flash, he stood before the rogue ninja, jerked his son from the man's arms, and created a gigantic spinning vortex of water around himself.

It blasted Suien back and slammed him through the infirmary, which luckily happened to be nearly empty. He coughed harshly, spat out a wad of blood, and then pulled himself from the wreckage. Then swiftly flowing through the hand seals, he began to fiercely battle with Shibaku using the secret technique of Waterfall, the Watercutting sword.

Back and forth, they traded blows. The rest of the thugs and Waterfall shinobi began to fight as well. Jutsus were exploding all around the center of the village, endangering the civilians and still weakened shinobi as Naruto arrived. Although frightened for the villager's safety, he bravely tried to protect them from harm.

Shibaku was cut down and the jug was taken from him. Suien eagerly gulped down the Hero's Water, his face twisting into an evil smirk as he relished in the new-found power coursing through his veins. He was about to end the fallen leader's life when a kunai came flying from nowhere and embedded itself in his arm. Sai came from behind a building and joined the fray. His tantō gleamed in the sun as he hacked and slashed his way towards Sasuke.

When Fū saw her leader fall, a growl escaped her and her eyes blazed with ferocity. She opened her mouth and exhaled a shimmering substance that blinded everyone. It provided the perfect opportunity for her to attack. Two men fell before they could even see her.

Once their vision had returned, they saw that her whole body was now bathed in an orange glow. She had transformed into a giant bug and had flown up into the air. Fū attacked several men at once and was able to bite one. He fell down to the ground screaming in pain before his body instantly necrotized, turning black and becoming still. Although she hated this ability of hers, she felt no remorse. She looked around for the last man; the man whom she hated above all else, her former sensei.

The Hero's Water made him too powerful for her to defeat. With the last bit of strength he had left from the water, he lifted his Watercutting sword, knocked her down from the sky, and slashed her in the upper chest.

Sasuke groggily awoke. Several ink mice scurried over to where the boy lay still tied up. They chewed through the hardened whip and freed him.

Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke paled when they saw their sister fall. Sasuke's eyes widened with horror and fear, before morphing into blazing red Sharingan. His face twisted into a furious scowl darkened with hatred, his hands shaking with rage.

Sai felt a rush of adrenaline as his heart rate and blood pressure increased. His muscles tightened and his face flushed. He barely contained the urge to charge.

Time slowed for Naruto. His heart seemed to stutter to a stop before it picked up again and began to pound in his chest. His eyes became cat-like and red; his whiskers lengthened. He positively seethed with wrath, transforming into his Nine-Tails' cloak. He growled out, "I'll kill you!"

Fū opened her eyes and breathed out, "Stop Naruto," but he was beyond hearing as was Sasuke.

Sai was the only one who saw that she was alive. He swiftly ran over to her to look over her wounds.

"No," she said, "Help Shibaku first."

He nodded then went to the village leader to attempt to heal him enough so that he wouldn't die from his wounds.

Sasuke and Naruto attacked in tandem.

Sasuke jumped in the air and shot three giant bullets of fire that came down like giant meteors then erupted into a geyser of flame. Suien, who was already weakened from his previous fight, barely made a water wall in time to block the attack. The water canceled out the flames, but the kunai hidden in the flames flew through it and pierced the man's chest. It distracted him enough that Naruto clones caught him in a barrage of fists and feet. The enormous power of the boy was no match for the shinobi.

With the after effects of the water leaving him feeling so defenseless and weak, he uncorked the jug and attempted to drink from it again, but a well aimed fireball from Sasuke caused it to shatter before it reached his lips.

"No!" he screamed.

Sasuke blew a great fireball and Naruto finished him off with a punch that sent him sailing over the falls.

Sai ran over to them and looked down. Unbidden images of blank-masked shinobi telling him that mercy was a weakness flashed before his eyes. He shook his head slightly to clear the confusion he felt each time he got one of those odd memories and asked, "Should we not go after him? He might still be alive."

"I think he learned not to mess with us," said Naruto while puffing out his chest.

"Why bother; he's probably dead," added Sasuke.

* * *

**~~O~~**

When Jiraiya returned to Takigakure a week later and learned what had happened, he was not pleased at all. While Naruto had already healed completely, Sai and Sasuke still sported numerous cuts and bruises.

The normally mellow Toad Sage berated them, "I leave you three here for two weeks and you go half-cocked into a battle that you were lucky to have survived! All of you could have been killed."

"But we weren't Pervy Sage. We had to help. It was the right thing to do," said Naruto quickly. He added, "Too many of their shinobi were still too weak to be able to defend their village."

"Zip it gaki," growled Jiraiya, "I'm not done yelling yet."

Each boy held a mutinous expression of varying degrees as they kept quiet and let the man rant. Words such as: danger, trouble magnets, morons, lucky, and just barely genin level were flung at them. Their eyes were glazed over with boredom and inattention by the time he calmed down. Sai's head even nodded a few times as he fought sleep.

They were all wide awake, however, after Jiraiya said in an unmistakably disapproving tone, "I heard you let Suien go."

"Well, he probably died," said Sasuke resentfully.

"That's right," shouted Naruto, annoyed at his tone, "We totally kicked his ass!" He bumped fists with the other two smugly.

Sai added, "Yes, we made him our female with a malicious or spiteful attitude."

Sasuke sighed, "Bitch, Sai…we made him our bitch."

"That's what I said."

Naruto slapped his hand over his eyes and shook his head in defeat. He said, "Man, you're nuts."

Sai replied with utmost seriousness, "I'm not crazy. My father had me tested."

"Yeah yeah, we know Aho." Naruto looked at Jiraiya and gave him a wide smile. "So, are you done yelling at us yet, Pervy Sage? We're sorry we didn't stay out of the way like good little boys and joined in the fight instead…"

Jiraiya's eye twitched.

"…but you know…I mean… hey, if you gotta choose between two evils, then you gotta at least pick the one you've never tried before, right?"

The Sannin resisted the urge to strangle the boys. "Go," he sputtered, "Just go and pack your things. We are leaving in the morning for the SummoningIslands." As they walked away, he sighed in frustration and raked his hand through his hair. "And don't think we aren't done with this discussion yet!" he shouted to their retreating backsides.

In the morning, they said their goodbyes to everyone. They had made many friends during their stay there and it was a little hard for them to leave.

Once they reached the base of the falls, Jiraiya stopped them. "I have a very important lesson for the three of you. Sasuke has already tried it, but now is the time to do it for real."

They boys looked at each other with a trace of reluctance. That twinkle in his eye did not bode well for them.

He held up a huge roll of bindings. "A true Shinobi lives in darkness. The night is his weapon..."

* * *

**~~Konohagakure~~**

Kakashi was at Ichiraku with the other parents when they opened their letters. They all looked at them in confusion. Ayame peered at it and asked, "Is it upside down?"

The copy-nin flipped it and studied it before turning it again. The letter was smeared in ink and covered in splotches. The kanji was not legible at all. "What is this," he finally asked. "Can anyone read theirs?"

No one could read his or hers. Ayame handed him a letter addressed to them all. He opened it and read aloud:

In case you're all wondering why you cannot read the boy's letters; it is because they have all been blindfolded for the entire journey to SummoningIslands. They are working on using their other senses. So I'll tell you what they all wrote. Jiraiya is the greatest ninja that ever lived. He is awesome, smart, and powerful. We all want to be just like him when we grow up. Oh and they also said they missed you all.

Jiraiya

Kakashi snorted. Ibiki let out a short bark of laughter. Mikoto smiled gently. They were all thinking the same thing… "_Yeah, right!"_

* * *

**~~OMAKE~~**

Nothing moved in the small section of the village where the intruders stood. Even the wind seemed to be holding its breath. Even though they were packed down with equipment, the three black clad individuals made no noise as they crept closer to the building in front of them.

"I can't believe we are actually doing this. Are you sure this is the right place?"

"I know what I'm doing. These are the correct coordinates, plus I've been here once before."

Several minutes passed in silence except for a slight metal scrape. One voice lowly muttered, "Damn thing won't open. Anyone else have any bright ideas?"

"Umm…open sesame, abracadabra, open please, bippidy boppidy boo…?"

With a small huff, one interjected, "Oh move over." There was a small tap and then a voice whispered, "Alohomora."

"This isn't Harī pottā to kenja no ishi," hissed another a second before they heard the soft click of the lock being released. "Well damn, it actually worked."

One of the intruder's blue eyes glittered as they took in the surroundings. "We have to hurry. Just get in and get out as fast as we can."

"Where is that room?" whispered one.

"How the hell would I know?"

"Shut the hell up before you two get us caught. I'll check upstairs, you two look around down here," hissed the third trespasser.

The black clad individual merged with the inky shadows and slowly, stealthily went up the stairs, hugging the wall to prevent any creaking from loose floorboards.

A door opened. Moonlight filtered through the window casting weak light to illuminate the room. The prowler carefully stepped over the items strewn all over the floor. On the desk lie photographs of various people. The interloper picked one up and studied the picture. Small creaks from downstairs made the person jump a little and move away. The photo was shoved into a bag as the person zipped out of the room with a racing heart.

Downstairs, the two other burglars found the room they were looking for. They groaned at the unintentional noise they made, but after several seconds of perfect silence, they heaved a sigh of relief. The third person entered quietly, making them give tiny squeaks of surprise. "There they are," hissed one, "Grab them and let's get the hell out of here before we get caught!"

A single narrowed eye watched the three figures flee from his house. He released the genjutsu and touched the spines of his treasured books, glad they were still safe.

* * *

**~~O~~**

Ayame woke with the feeling of lips pressed against hers. Without opening her eyes, she ran her fingers through the silver hair on man she loved with all her heart and deepened the kiss. Heart now pounding with anticipation, she looked up at the grinning man. "What has you looking like a cat that got the cream?"

Kakashi laughed out loud. "Anko's little devils tried to steal my Icha Icha books."

"Tried? And you didn't kill them!"

"Mah, only if they would have actually succeeded." He leaned over her and touched her breast. "Now where were we?" he asked lustily.

She ran her finger down his chest and said coyly, "How about page 271 from the second Icha book?"

Kakashi let out a sinful chuckle and said, "Why you wicked little thing, are you reading my mind?"

* * *

**~~O~~**

Sakura, Hinata, and Ino ran pell mell through the streets of Konoha; their bodies rushing with adrenaline. "I can't believe we actually did it!" Hinata gasped out, "Anko said this mission would be difficult, but we actually did it!"

"Of course we did it, we're awesome!" shouted Ino with a whoop.

"Be quiet, you two. We still have to meet up with Anko Sensei."

A figure stepped out of the shadows, bringing them to a halt. Anko gleefully held out her hands and said, "Gimme, gimme, gimme!"

Ino handed her four orange and red books with a proud look.

Anko's look of glee was quickly replaced with disgust. "Cooking with Noodles… The Complete Companion to Curing Canines, Childrearing for Dummies… The Kama Sutra, hmm, maybe I'll keep that one…

"Girls, you failed…these are definitely not the books you were supposed to take."

"They were when we grabbed them!" said Ino hotly.

* * *

**~~O~~**

Bright and early the next morning, Ibiki opened his front door to leave for work. Kakashi was leaning against the railing with his nose buried in a book. At the squeal of the door, he lifted his head, gave a smile, and said, "Yo."

Ibiki grunted in reply. He eyed the three females next to him who were tied up, gagged, and shivering. "That's not for me is it?"

"Nope," replied the copy-nin cheerfully, "I'm just returning these to Anko."

"Ah." Nonplussed, he turned his head and said in a loud voice with a hint of humor, "Anko-chan, you have a package." He left the door open as he turned to leave. Ibiki shot over his shoulder, "Try not to kill her…I'm kind of attached to her."

Anko appeared seconds later and grinned unrepentantly. "Really Kakashi, did you have to keep them all night?" She pulled a kunai from who knows where and cut her students bindings. "Go home," she ordered, "I'll deal with you three later."

The three very annoyed girls slunk off with their sensei's mocking laughter ringing in their ears.

Kakashi smiled. "Mah," he said, "At least your other group made it all the way to my door before I sensed them. I actually had to rush to disarm all the more dangerous traps in my house. This team didn't even make it over the wall before getting caught. I thought it would be beneficial for them to spend the night in the trap to teach them a lesson." He leaned forward and held out his hand, "Come on now, hand it over. My wife is rather fond of that cookbook."

Anko stuck out her tongue and laughed at him. She tossed him three books lying on the side table just inside the apartment and tried to leave.

Kakashi shook his finger and intercepted her. "I think you're forgetting the Kama Sutra, Anko. While I'm sure Ibiki would love for you to read that one, I'm kind of fond of it."

"I don't know what you're talking about…"

"Uh-huh." He tapped his Icha Icha and said, "Just keep it. Who knows, maybe you'll learn something new. This one is much better anyways." He gave the red-cheeked kunoichi a wink and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Pervert," muttered Anko.

* * *

AN:

Big thanks to my beta **cookiemonster77**; a person with vast amounts of patience. (She has to be that way to deal with me!). Also big thanks to my bestie, **Nighttheraven**, who I force to read my chapters at least three times each!

Thanks again for everyone who favorited/followed/reviewed my story. You all are so awesome.


	8. The Summoning Islands

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. I promise to put them back when I'm done, just not in the same condition that I borrowed them.**

* * *

Sorry I was late updating - I hope you enjoy the latest installment of Stronger!

* * *

**Chapter Eight:**

**_The Summoning Islands_**

_Some people fly...and some of us worry  
I'll touch the sky with my wings.  
I know if I try I'll get where I'm going,  
Keeping my eyes on the sky._

_~Queensryche~_

**Nine months ago**

_"For the rest of your journey to the islands, you shall live without one of your senses, beginning with the sense you rely on the most: your sight."_

The trip took four long months. Four months of being blind… four months of training and sparring blind. During that time, Jiraiya had explained to them all about the SummoningIslands. He said the creatures didn't actually live on there, but instead were mostly comprised of the young ones that were sent there as part of an assignment. Their mission was to judge new hopefuls and to learn about the other summoning beasts. Sometimes older ones were sent there as a punishment.

When Jiraiya told them they finally arrived at the town, Mūnraito Bei, they already knew. They tasted the salty tang of the sea air. They heard the cry of strange new birds. They smelled the odor of fish and seaweed. Finally, they would get to remove their blindfolds after one last sparring match.

Jiraiya got them rooms at a hotel and then led them into the dining room with a large empty dance floor. Tables filled with dining guests sat along the edges. The heavy smell of food and murmurs of scattered conversations filled their senses, distracting them.

"Remember, you must see with more than just your eyes boys. Now begin."

Sai approached Naruto first and struck with his blunted sword. While he eluded or blocked several blows, for every two he managed to block, another connected. He grunted in pain.

Jiraiya yelled at him, "Focus Naruto; don't let the other sounds and smells distract you. And you Sasuke; what are you waiting for, a personal invitation?"

The diners quieted in shock as they watched the scene enfold. None had ever witnessed such a display. Many of the women thought it cruel to watch the 'children' beat each other. Men quietly began placing bets.

Naruto ignored the bothersome sounds around him. He calmed his breathing and focused hard. He leaned forward and sniffed the air. Like a dog getting the scent, his inhalation a long, low whisper in the near silent room.

Naruto took his position, his stance easy and his expression soft. As Sasuke and Sai came at him, everything had become clear; the whistle of the blade, the zip of the leg sweep against the wooden floor, the soft swish of their clothes. Combined with their unmistakable body odor Naruto had everything he needed to dodge, slip and counter while avoiding the diners.

Sasuke knocked Sai down and turned towards Naruto with his sword in hand. He attacked. Neither gave an inch in their duel as their weapons rang out in a frenzied drum roll of steel on steel. Evenly matched in skill and ferocity, they continued their fight without signs of tiring. Locked together for a moment Sasuke smiled, "You've gotten better baka."

"Ha, you haven't even begun to see how good I am teme." Naruto was about to egg his friend on some more when he sensed Sai coming up behind him. He shoved his hand into his pouch and pulled a kunai in time to block the blow aimed at his back. "Not so silent this time Aho," he joked.

Jiraiya stood up and ended the match, very pleased with their progress. Their food had just arrived as they came to the table. As soon as they were seated, the Sannin pulled out a kunai and sliced through their blindfolds, finally giving them their sight back.

They boys shielded their eyes as even the dim lighting in the dining room hurt. Jiraiya handed them sunglasses and praised them.

An elderly woman sitting near them gave Jiraiya a glare heavy with disapproval but when she saw the happy, proud looks the boys had on their faces, she was stunned. "How do you do that? Is it intuition?"

"Intuition is seeing with the soul," replied Sasuke.

"It is also the state of being aware of or knowing something without having to discover or perceive it," added Sai.

Naruto put his hands behind his head and stated, "Nah, it's just because we're awesome ninja."

Jiraiya chuckled, "That's very true and I have a surprise for you three." He reached over his plate and lifted a napkin. Under it was three hitai-ate with the Konoha insignia etched on it. He handed one to each of them.

"You all have truly earned these," he said proudly, "Never forget that the hitai-ate is meant to symbolize pride in one's village, as well as a symbol of fealty. A true shinobi should always consider it an honorable, important part of their tradition. With these on, you are no longer children; you are shinobi; adults..."

The boys sat up straighter, prouder. "You will be going on missions when you get back to the village. Your sensei will protect you as best he can, but you will still come into dangerous situations at times. The life of a shinobi is a perilous one and there are no guarantees that you will even survive long, but I believe in you three."

* * *

**~~Something Smells~~**

The sun had touched the horizon and began to melt into it. The golden light swiftly deepened to orange and then bloody-red. The grass and tall weeds behind him rustled in the wind, and Naruto looked over his shoulders as he heard the spirals of airborne sand that swirled across the slope between the beach and hotel. From the east a wall of night was toppling over the world. The air had grown downright cold. Naruto liked sitting outside at night before bed. It wasn't so close and confining as it was inside. He could breathe and think out here.

He was getting tired of waiting; the anticipation was killing him. Their boat would finally be arriving in the morning. With a sigh, he walked into the hotel and into the room he shared with Sai and Sasuke. He was about to lay down on his futon when Sasuke sat up and said, "Uh-uh, I don't think so dobe."

"What?"

"Remember our deal; you take a shower at least three times a week and I don't kill you in your sleep."

"Aw come on, Sai, back me up, I had a shower the other day."

Sai held his hand over his mouth and nose. "No, I don't think so Naruto. You smell so bad, I can almost taste you."

"Come on, you guys are just exaggerating now that your sense of smell is stronger."

Sasuke smirked. "Fine baka, you leave us no choice. Sai?"

Sai smiled wide as ran into the adjoining bathroom and turned on the water in the bathtub. He and Sasuke flew through hand seals. Although they did not have water affinities like Naruto, they were able to do one jutsu. "Marine battle formation!" they shouted. The water filling the tub flowed out with great force from the combined jutsu, shoving Naruto against the wall and soaking him to the skin before abruptly cutting off.

The bedraggled boy stood panting from the pressure. After he caught his breath, he gave them both the finger and stripped off his wet clinging clothes. He grabbed Sasuke's shirt and rubbed his lank, dripping hair on it against his protests. "You guys have to sleep eventually, you know," he muttered, "Sometimes I aim to please, but mostly I shoot to kill." He ignored their laughter and put on his pajamas and walrus nightcap. As he walked over to his bed and realized it was soaking wet, he shoved Sai over and lay down beside him. "That counts as a shower!" he yelled before rolling over.

Sasuke turned the water off in the tub and chuckled, "You know we only do it because we care. You'll never be able to impress any girls with the way you smell, especially that annoying one that's prone to giving orders."

"You mean because she's so bossy?" Sai snickered.

Naruto had to chuckle, he rolled back over to face them, "True, but it is good that Sakura likes to take charge. She'll be a good leader someday. Our babies will be strong, smart, and beautiful!"

"Not to mention imaginary," replied Sai.

Naruto gave him an annoyed look.

"I really wish you would get her out of your head," said Sasuke. "Sai and I don't like her. We don't like the way she treated you. We'll never trust her."

"Do you trust me?" asked Naruto seriously.

"Of course we do," said Sai. Sasuke also nodded in agreement.

Naruto's face grew somber. "Then trust in me to know that I know what I want. I get a letter from her every week. I know her. Don't hate her because of what she did as a kid; you need to see her for the person she is today."

"We'll see…" Sasuke muttered.

Naruto sighed knowing it was the best he would get out of his friend. Although it frustrated him that they didn't like her, it also warmed his heart. They didn't like her because of him.

* * *

**~~The Cruise~~**

The next morning, Sai, Sasuke, and Naruto stared in stunned disbelief at the ship they were going to be traveling in to the islands. It was a cruise ship…a singles cruise ship to be exact. Women in all shapes and sizes were walking up the gangplank. Naruto pointed his finger accusingly, "You pervert!" he shouted. "This is why we didn't take those other boats; you wanted to come on this one!"

Jiraiya had a gleeful look in his eyes and was practically drooling. "Now now," he said distractedly, "I took the liberty of getting you boys a job that will help with your training."

"What kind of job," asked Naruto suspiciously.

"Oh it's great, you'll love it. It'll help with strength training, especially after I put new seals on you. You'll all be shoveling coal."

Sasuke sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose to stave off the impending headache while Naruto shouted, "What?! You're making us do this just so you can get a free cruise!"

"I'm insulted. I would never do such a thing to my precious little students."

"Yes, you would!"

Sasuke grabbed Sai's arm and led him away from their pointless arguing. "Come on Aho, let's find our cabin."

**~~One Last Time~~**

"Don't do it Naruto. You heard what Jiraiya said; we are no longer children. It's time for you to stop pulling your silly pranks."

Naruto handed his shovel off to Sai and wiped the sweat from his brow leaving a black mark across it. His blue eyes glimmered in the reflection of the roaring furnace. "No Sasuke; this isn't about a childish prank. This is about revenge."

"What are you talking about baka? Revenge for what?"

"This is supposed to be a training trip and here we are. I get that it's a good way to build strength, but come on, we've been on this heap for two weeks and haven't learned anything new." He took out his frog wallet out of his pocket and opened it. He upended it to show it was empty before putting it back. "He's up there having a grand old time on our ryo."

"Our ryo?"

"Have you checked you wallet lately? I know your mom sent you money last week. Do you still have it?" he asked, cocking his brow knowingly.

Sasuke took out his wallet and opened it with a growl while Naruto smirked. "Dammit, he did it again!"

"So are you in or am I just going to have to be silly and childish by myself."

Sasuke hesitated before agreeing with a mental cringe. "…As long as it doesn't impinge upon my dignity."

"You're with me now; dignity has nothing to do with it!" He stretched out his coal blackened hands and rubbed them all over Sasuke's face.

"No wait…! I changed my mind…"

**~~Jiraiya~~**

Jiraiya was having the time of his life on the cruise. _"So many women, so little time," _he mused. He was sitting in the lounge regaling three beautiful women with tales of his past adventures when two grubby boys with tear streaked faces approached.

"Daddy?" said Naruto, "Can we please eat something now?"

"Yes daddy," said Sasuke, "We promise we'll be good little boys from now on."

"Oh and daddy, can you let our poor brother out of the hold now. The rats keep biting him."

The three women gave looks of horror at the Sannin. One of them smacked him with her purse while the other two yanked the boys into their arms with murmurs of "there there" and "you poor dear."

**~~Four Days Later~~**

"We've been rowing for two days straight Sensei. Are we there yet?" asked Sai.

"Yeah, this sucks," wheezed Naruto.

"And whose fault is that, I'd like to know?!"

The sound of oars hitting the boat reverberated in his ears as three fingers were pointed accusingly at him.

"Hey, I wasn't the one who washed the captain with that water jutsu," defended Jiraiya with a glare.

"That was collateral damage. You set my butt on fire!" yelled Naruto.

"You gave me hives!"

"Well you made me break out in pimples!"

"You made those beautiful women hate me!" They were nose to nose now, shouting at the top of their voices.

"You stole our money!"

"Holding it…I was holding it for you…"

* * *

**~~Summoning Islands~~**

They pulled up to the island after rowing for several more hours. Exhausted, the boys tiredly got out of the boat and fell into the sand, their disagreement forgotten in their relief and excitement. They were finally there.

Jiraiya leaped out and struck one of his ridiculous poses. "This is it boys!" he boomed out energetically, "This is SummoningIsland; a wondrous place of mystery and enchantment. Remember boys, they choose you. So go forth and knock yourselves out!"

Sai mumbled, "Too tired…can't move…need rest first…"

"What's wrong with you boys? You all should have much more energy than me!"

"That's because you didn't help us row that damn boat," said Sasuke, his voice dripping with venom, "And you even made our resistance seals stronger."

"Oh right. Well, you'll thank me someday."

Sai slowly moved his face out of the sand, listlessly rolled over, and said, "I really don't foresee that happening any time soon sensei."

"Oh that reminds me, you might want to get you feet out of the water. The creatures that inhabit it are not exactly nice. As a matter of fact, they're kind of touchy?"

"What do you mean by touchy, Pervy Sage?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah, they like to bite first and ask questions later."

Sai jumped up, ignoring the scream of protest from his tired, aching muscles. His normal blank look was replaced with one of reproach and accusation. Jiraiya just chuckled and patted him on the head.

"Now don't forget men, the one that is meant for you will be attracted to your chakra," he said as he sent them off with a cheery wave.

* * *

**~~Naruto' Summons~~**

By midday, when the sun was overhead in a cloudless sky and the wind had died away to nothing, the grasslands lying south of the ocean laid empty and still. Heat rose off the plains in a soft shimmer, and it was so quiet that from a hundred meters away the chirp of birds and the buzz of insects could be heard as if they were settled close by.

After the coolness of the jungle, the warmth of this place felt good on his skin. Naruto had a hopeful feeling that this was it. It just felt right. He caught sight of a crouching panther and moved silently closer.

The sleek black cat turned its proud head sharply and sniffed the boy. With a deep throated growl, she spat out, "No way," and disappeared in a flash.

"Okaaay, so no panther then…" said Naruto to himself. Everywhere he went, he got basically the same reaction from the creatures, but he didn't let it discourage him. He came across an armored insect slightly bigger than he was and went in closer to have a look. It was actually kind of pretty with its metallic red and gold colorings. "Wow," said Naruto, "You are one big bug!" He admired the horn on its head and its wings and then added, "I'll bet you would be pretty awesome in battle."

The beetle sniffed. "You really stink for a human," it said in a gravelly voice.

A giant dung beetle just told him that he smelled bad…

Naruto couldn't believe his ears. "What?! Hey, it was a lot of work to get here. I mean, I had to shovel coal on the ship and then I helped row a boat for hours in the hot sun. See if you smelled like roses after doing all that! At least I don't smell like sh…"

SPLAT

A massive glob of – please let it be mud – hit him in the chest. This was one creature he did not want to anger further. Naruto spun on his heel and set off towards the lake he had spied earlier, muttering to himself the whole way.

He ignored Jiraiya's warning and threw himself into the water. Not a minute later, bubbles broke through to the surface of the water. So many, in fact, it looked like the lake was boiling. A massive hump arose turning into a green head. Naruto jumped back in trepidation. The creature turned its head and shot a jet of water straight at him pushing him back twenty feet.

The giant frog was light green in color with purple eyes and yellow patterns all over her body. She wore a large red bow on her back and had thick orange lipstick, pink blush and eye-liner on her face. Her appearance shocked the boy into silence. She said in a high-pitched voice, "Well hello there you little heartthrob. I am Gamariki." She hopped up to him, pursed her lips, and kissed him. Due to her massive size, that meant she kissed all of him.

Naruto tried to hide the shudder of repulsion that shook his body. "Ew, a girly frog kiss…" he muttered under his breath and looked around furtively to see if anybody witnessed her actions. Unfortunately, she heard him and promptly thumped him on the head.

"Ouch!" he shouted, "What the hell was that for?"

"First of all stud muffin, I am not a frog. I am a toad. Do you see any slime on my beautiful green skin? And second, I am a male."

Naruto sweat dropped at that bit of information. He scrubbed his skin surreptitiously with his shirt. The 'toad' continued, "We heard about you from Jiraiya-boy so I came to check you out, love bug."

"You're not going to try to kiss me again are you?" he asked suspiciously, "Because I got to tell ya, I'm not really into that."

"Not unless you want me to, sweet cakes." Gamariki hopped closer to him. His tongue whipped out and wrapped the boy in a wet hug. "Mmm tasty…like a piece of chocolate covered bug. You're my little smoochy-woochie dinky-poo."

"That's it," gasped Naruto, squirming out of the embrace, "I am not your heartthrob, love bug, stud muffin, and most definitely not your little smoochy-woochie dinky-poo! I'm not in to whatever the hell you want from me!"

"Oooh…so forceful. You're a regular little spitfire, aren't you? I like 'em feisty."

Naruto's eyes narrowed and he growled.

"Okay, okay; I'll behave myself. Although," he said in a falsetto voice, "If I'm bad, you have my permission to spank me."

"Ugh, I just threw up in my mouth a little. I have one question for you; will you be the one who appears every time I summon?"

"Not unless you want me to, babycakes."

"Thank Kami. Let's go find Pervy Sage and get this contract signed."

* * *

**~~Sai's Summons~~**

Sai lay on the sandy beach internally contemplating his course of action. His mind moved in many different directions as it always did. He recalled the beast scroll with perfect clarity, Jiraiya's advice, as well as his mother's counsel.

He knew exactly what to do. If the beasts were attracted to certain types of chakra, then that was exactly what he was going to do. He made the ram seal, focused it, and let out a pulse. He then put his hands behind his head and took a nap.

When Sai awoke a short time later, he was still alone. He sat up, pulled out his special scroll and ink. The genin debated for a while before drawing the eagle. He had never done this technique before, but he was pretty sure his theory was correct.

High up in the air, it was easy to see the land divisions. He flew to the farthest point first and landed. He sat on the forest floor to meditate for a few minutes then made the ram seal again. This time he began to draw to kill time while he waited. Nothing happened.

Sai repeated the same process in the grasslands and in the desert. It was there that he had the strange encounter. A wild boar rooting around the ground caught his attention. He stared at it curiously for a moment and thought how it reminded him of Naruto. It was such an innocent looking animal, but in truth, it's dangerous and unpredictable. A charging boar is extremely difficult to kill, due to its thick hide and dense bones, making anything less than a kill shot a potentially deadly mistake.

"Maybe I should call him piggy-boy from now on," he murmured to himself. "I'll bet he would appreciate the nickname as fitting as it is, plus the piggy adds a touch of whimsy that he seems to enjoy." Sai smiled to himself, happy that he would be able to do something to please his friend.

As he continued to watch, impressed with the deadly animal, a vague memory popped into his head. It was another one of those odd flashes he would get every once in a while.

_Sai and several other boys and girls all around three and four years of age were sitting without a sound on raised benches. Their silence seemed unnatural for their young age. A large empty steel barred enclosure stood before them. The bars and concrete floor had many rust colored stains._

_Two stone-faced men entered the room, each wheeling in a smaller cage. In one was an enraged boar and in the other, two snarling, barking dogs. The men placed the cages at the openings of the larger pen and released them. Growling viciously, the dogs attacked. Blood and gore mixed with the older stains. It was a horrendous, terrifying spectacle. During the fight, a bandaged man kept running commentary. "Mercy is weakness," he said, "Fear helps your enemy. Your fear makes the enemy stronger. Never let your enemy see you bleed, and never let your enemy gain the upper hand. Always fight to win. To win your battles, you must be merciless and brutal."_

_He tried to look away, but a white masked man forced his head back to the gruesome scene. The bloody desperate boar charged one last time, impaling its tusk into one of the dog's eyes before dying with one last pained squeal. _

_The only sound that remained in the room was the piteous cries of the injured dog._

_Danzo spoke, "Remember, to win, you must be brutal and merciless. Never forget these lessons if you wish to live. We fight for Konohagakure. We fight to be the strongest village in all the nations."_

Sai clenched his hands into tight fists as the tortured squeals and ferocious snarls rang through his head. It was all too much. Sometimes he hated being alone. If Naruto or Sasuke were here, they wouldn't let him wallow in misery. They would bring him into their light. He grabbed the skin on his forearm and viciously twisted it. The pain was immediate and intense. The memory faded as they always did. He moved on to the next area.

* * *

**_~~Sai's Summons~~_**

It was quiet in the swamp, the perpetual twilight hushed and expectant beneath the vast canopy of limbs and vines, the surface of the mire as smooth as glass, the reeds and rushes motionless in the windless air. Here and there a water bug jumped soundlessly from place to place, stirring puddles to life in the wake of its passing, bending blades of grass like springboards. Birds swooped and banked in bright flashes of color, darting from limb to limb.

Sai enjoyed his trek through the swamp. He let out another pulse of chakra and then, feeling inspired, sat down to draw. He quickly became engrossed in his art, but not enough that he didn't hear the sound of something heavy landing behind him.

"Ah, a mollusk, like Lady Tsunade's summons… That is acceptable to me," he said without lifting his eyes from his art.

The slug's antennae quivered and she commented, "How did you know? You didn't even turn around."

"The sound of your fall was unique. You have no feet; therefore I could only conclude that you were either a snake or a slug. Given the relationships I have with both my mother and Lady Tsunade, I knew it could be either one. I did not hear any hissing noises therefore I deduced that you must be a slug."

"Oh, that's very analytical of you."

"Thank you." Sai closed his pad, put his paints away, and turned around to face the creature. "I do have one question for you."

"Yes?"

"Well, it is more of a statement. I generally like to avoid touching people on general principle. I have no desire to become a full time medic and work in the hospital as Lady Tsunade would like me to. I intend to be a field medic though. My question is: will you still accept me?"

"My master, Katsuyu sent me here from ShikkotsuForest specifically to get your signature. She heard about you from Tsunade and believes in you." A large scroll popped next to them. Sai picked it up and unrolled it. Without any hesitation, he bit into his thumb to draw the blood required and signed his name.

* * *

**~~Sasuke's Summons~~**

As soon as he had rested enough, Sasuke got to his feet with a determined glint in his eye. He had given much thought to what sort of creature he would like to have as his summons. He, Sai, and Naruto had pored through the scroll Jiraiya had that detailed the known summons and their abilities. While both he and Naruto really liked the wolves, they both realized that they would not do. They were both combat specialists and not trackers; they all were, so he knew that it would be highly unlikely if any of them got the wolf contract.

There was something he preferred anyways. Sasuke wanted a bird of prey, a hawk. With that in mind, he looked up. Here beneath the thick canopy of leaves sunlight penetrated only in scattered shafts of orange-gold light, and where the underbrush was thickest, dark shadows persisted. He couldn't see the sky. Sasuke jumped into the nearest tree and climbed to the top with ease. Off in the distance, he saw a mountain with what looked to be several creatures flying around it.

His chest beat in heady anticipation. He searched the ground for the easiest route and was surprised at what he saw. The island was divided into sections of different climates. He saw a desert, grasslands, wetlands, jungle, and the mountain range.

He looked up into the sky. High above him was a giant bird. He watched as it began a dizzying spiral, flinging itself so fast Sasuke thought it would land on top of him. it pulled out of the spiral a good thirty feet above him, hovering just long enough for him to notice that the rich brown feathers of the back and wings faded to a slightly paler shade on throat and breast before it was gone, heading up to the peak of the mountain.

"It's so huge," Sasuke whispered, awestruck. He had seen many kinds of birds before, but never had he been so impressed by feathered grace and beauty. The wings were large and obviously strong, yet delicate at the same time. The body was sleek and graceful and the head was proud. It came towards him again, skimming only twenty feet above him. Just before it reached Sasuke, it soared upward, flying upside down for a few moments before righting itself.

"Come," echoed a voice in his head.

**~~The Hawk~~**

Sasuke stood at the top of the rocky precipice and surveyed his surroundings. Although he hated to admit it to himself, he was a bit tired. The mountain was extremely steep and nearly impassable in some areas, but he made it.

He detected a flicker of movement to the side of him, but when he turned to look, he saw nothing. He was certain he was not alone. Something was behind him. He spun, ready to defend himself. It was the hawk.

Its shiny brown eyes were fixed on him. Its long black beak was slightly parted, enough for Sasuke to see that it had teeth, neat rows of them, top and bottom. They gave the creature a slightly sinister look. The way the bird was studying him made Sasuke feel that the creature was sizing him up. It was confirmed seconds later when a deep guttural voice muttered, "Maybe."

Sasuke felt as though his heart would burst out of his chest in excitement from that one little word. He knew it! He just knew that the hawk would be his summons. He arrogantly stepped forward and said, "I am Sasuke Uchiha."

The proud bird looked down at him condescendingly. He said, "I know who you are hatchling. I am Bikkubādo. I can see you have a lot of potential in you. I believe my master might even approve of you. We don't let just anyone call upon us you know."

Sasuke stood up straighter and tried not to let his eagerness show.

"There is only one thing left that you need to do to prove yourself worthy of…"

A large shrill whistle interrupted what he was going to say next. A huge gust of wind shook the leaves in the surrounding trees and bushes and was followed by a blast of intense heat. Something rushed past him and rammed into Bikkubādo. The massive creature looked down at the thing that was clinging to its leg and making a noise that sounded like a cross between a scream and a howl. Bikkubādo took a step back.

Sasuke didn't know what to think. He had never seen anything that could even begin to describe the creature. It looked a bit like a baby, but its nose was almost beak shaped and it had thin stalk-like chicken legs. It's hairless, fat pink body looked almost burnt in spots. It had loose wrinkly skin.

It continued screeching until Bikkubādo bowed his head. He turned to Sasuke and said, "My apologies hatchling, the hawks will not work with you. The fates have decreed that Kajiarashi here is meant to."

"What?!" But it was too late; the hawk disappeared in a puff leaving Sasuke alone with the naked-baby-chicken thing (or NBC, as he dubbed it). "What?!" he shouted again in disbelief and regret. He looked down when he felt the THING grab his leg and hug him. It was clinging to him tighter than a lovesick fan girl. His mouth tightened in disgust. "Get off me," he said disdainfully.

Sasuke tried to pry its hands/claws off his leg, but it only made NBC snuggle deeper. The bare skin on his legs crawled in revulsion. He tried again to remove IT. NBC whimpered piteously and gazed owlishly up at him. Then it trilled…

**~~ Kajiarashi~~**

Sasuke raced through the jungle brush desperate to get away from the creature following him. "Go away!" he shouted, but still the "thing" followed him. He took to the trees going so fast his foot was barely pushing off one branch before landing on another. A quick glance back showed the ugly hairless creature still on his tail.

He flashed through the three hands seal he had reduced his grand fireball technique down to and blew with all his might. An enormous red ball of flame roared to life past his lips and to the creature. It only seemed to excite it. It made an odd trilling sound while it danced in the flames.

"Please go away," begged Sasuke. There was no way in hell he wanted this ugly, bizarre creature to be his summons. It was pink for Kami's sake. It looked like the world's ugliest baby. "What the hell is that thing?" he asked himself.

Sasuke made another fireball to distract the baby-thing then lit out as if he was on fire. He finally managed to lose it when he ran straight into Jiraiya. Picking himself up, he goggled at Naruto who was standing on top of the biggest amphibian imaginable. "What?!" he shouted incredulously. "You got a frog summons?"

"I am a toad," said Gamariki sulkily.

"Yeah, yeah, I know what I said about toads," he said rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, "But these guys use swords and everything. They get even bigger than this guy does too, if you can believe it. I signed the contract."

Sasuke couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealously that Naruto got a sword using toad and all he got was a naked-baby-chicken thing… or whatever the hell it was. He looked over at Sai, who was talking to something in his hand. He took a closer look and saw the tiny little slug. "How did it find you?" he asked.

"She found me," he said pointing to a much larger slug off to the right. "She dropped down in front me while I was walking through the jungle. I think I like her. She says that she has the ability to heal. I signed the contract and I was able to summon this one."

"You actually summoned one!" Now Sasuke was really jealous. His two best friends got the same creatures as the Sannin AND ALL HE GOT WAS A NAKED BABY CHICKEN THING! _"What the hell!"_

A large shrill whistle…. A huge gust of wind… A blast of intense heat…

NBC was back and clinging to his legs. Naruto, Sai and Jiraiya goggled at the ugly little thing. "What the hell is that?!" they all shouted.

"I have no idea," said Sasuke with gritted teeth. He told them the details of his meeting with the hawk and the NBC and then pleaded, "Get it off me."

Jiraiya squatted down next to the cooing beast and tried to remove it. It turned its head and hissed, showed rows of jagged teeth. He was at a loss, never having seen anything like it before. "Hmm, well whatever it is, it looks like it's yours."

He addressed the NBC, "Do you want Sasuke to sign your contract?"

The beast released Sasuke's leg, blinked and then nodded at the sage. Its chest began to heave and watery gurgling sounds emitted from its throat. It opened its mouth and threw up a slime covered red scroll. Jiraiya picked it up and handed it to the boy. "You might as well sign it. No other creature will give you a contract."

Sasuke gingerly opened the scroll and unrolled it onto the sandy beach. At the top it read: Ignis et Alitis Fulgur. There was only one other person who had signed it, but the lettering was so old and faded, it was illegible. No one still had any idea what the creature was supposed to be. Sasuke bit his thumb, smeared blood on his fingertips, pressed them onto the scroll, and then signed his name.

A voice echoed in his head, "Until we meet again…" The creature then cooed, rubbed his cheek against Sasuke and disappeared with a pop along with the scroll.

Sasuke looked at the other two and muttered, "That's so not fair. You guys get something cool and I get…"

"Oh stop your bitching, Sasuke!" grumbled Naruto. "You think you got it rough? I've got a transvestite frog with the hots for me!"

"I'm a toad."

"Whatever."

"You did it," Jiraiya beamed. "All three of you actually did it!"

* * *

**AN:**

Big thanks again to my beta **COOKIEMONSTER77 **and a little help from **JANZEN222!**

Thank you to everyone who followed/favorited/commented - you all are awesome!

Bikkubādo means Big Bird (My little homage to Sesame Street and my BETA!)

Mūnraito Bei means Moonlight Bay

To all of you who thought that last chapter was in reference to the first one - haha! The next chapter is finally going to tell what really happened. be prepared for thrills, chills, and excitement... At least I hope so - as I said, action is hard for me to write, but oooh do I love angst and horror, mauling and multilation, blood and guts...!

P.S. I'm not saying what NBC is yet! Haha - I'm just evil that way...and besides if Sasuke doesn't get to know what the heck it is, then no one else gets to either! It will be awhile...sorry!

Until next week,

**AZFAERYDUST**


	9. Real Power: The Return to Waterfall

Disclaimer: Guess what…I won the lottery and now I own Naruto! I get to make Asuma, Jiraiya, and Neji live again! Damn, just woke up and realized it was just a dream…I do not own Naruto nor do I make any money from it…

I'm going back to sleep to dream that beautiful dream again!

* * *

**An:**

Well, as many of you have guessed, Sasuke's summons is indeed a Phoenix. Now before you all think I went off the deep end – let me explain – first of all I'm not crazy, my father had me tested (just kidding), seriously though, I swear that everyone's not going to be suddenly holding wands and casting spells at each other (No offence to H.P. – big fan). I chose the Phoenix simply for the fact that I wanted Sasuke to think he got screwed! I had a mental picture of them meeting and just couldn't shake it. The Phoenix in my story will not be god-like, he/she is a regular summoned creature like Gamabunta and Monda are, and has its own special powers as they all do. I repeat - it will not have god-like powers, as a matter of fact; there is a reason why it looks like a naked baby chicken. Anyways, my moment of insanity is over and although I cannot promise not to have any more 'episodes', I hope you enjoy this chapter – which happens to be a cliffhanger. (See, I'm not crazy – just really mean!)

MWA – HA – HA!

* * *

**Chapter Nine:**

_**Real Power: The Return to Waterfall**_

_The secret side of me, I never let you see  
I keep it caged, but I can't control it  
So stay away from me, the beast is ugly  
I feel the rage and I just can't hold it_

_~~Skillet~~_

**One month ago**

Jiraiya had every intention of going to the Land of Hot Water after the island. Not only did it boast the highest amount of hot springs (naturally), but also it had the highest number of _MIXED SEX_ hot springs.

The message Jiraiya received from Rain changed everything.

Without any explanation to the boys, the Sannin removed their resistance seals and set a brutal pace that had the genin pushed to their limits. When they took their first break, Naruto was the only one of the three with enough energy left to ask, "What's going on? Where are we going?"

"We are going back to Waterfall. One of my spies heard that they have been targeted by a band of rogue shinobi. I've been hearing many disturbing rumors about this group, but no one seems to know what their ultimate goal is. I was hoping to get some information on them."

The boys shared worried looks which Jiraiya caught. "There's no need to worry. Waterfall is, after all, hidden. No one knows how to get in."

"If this is just a simple information gathering mission, then why are we running so hard?" asked Sasuke.

"Oh, well…we took a shortcut," said the abashed Sannin.

"And…?"

"We are in the Land of Lightning right now."

"Lightning? We are actually in Lightning?" The boys looked around with interest but were disappointed to see nothing special about it. It looked boring. "So why couldn't we come here before?"

"Three reasons," said Jiraiya seriously, pointing to each of them.

"Us? What's so special about us? We've been everywhere with you."

"The Raikage is obsessed with power. He will do anything to acquire special children. He would kill to gain an Uchiha and Uzumaki. Once he saw Sai's talents, he would try to grab him as well. I think it would be for the best if we just get in and out of this country as fast as we can."

"We wouldn't abandon Konoha."

"I know. It's not much of a problem now that you are all genin now. The Raikage wouldn't be able to snatch you without serious repercussions." He stood up and gestured to them, "Break time's over, lets move out."

* * *

**~~Return to Waterfall~~**

The trio was amazed at how swiftly they made the journey back to Waterfall now that they were no longer blindfolded, wearing resistance seals, and stopping at every spa along the way. What have previously taken several months, took only a few days.

Everything appeared normal at the base of the falls. The noise coming from the roaring water obscured all other sounds of nature. They quickly looked around, but found nothing amiss. Not so in the village…

As they climbed out of the water, a dissonance of sound echoed around them. Jiraiya shouted, "You boys stay back."

"No sensei," interrupted Sasuke, "We are genin now. This is our duty."

Jiraiya hesitated. He knew the boy was right, but he didn't want to put them in danger without knowing the risks. Finally he agreed and instructed sternly, "Help evacuate the citizens."

They nodded as he ran off to aid the Taki shinobi and then gave each other concerned looks. Sai asked, "How did they get in? The location is supposed to be secret and the barrier impossible to breach."

"I don't know," Naruto commented, "But I can feel Fū close by and if she's here; you can bet she's kicking ass!"

* * *

**~~O~~**

**Boo-ooom!**

An incredibly powerful blast of heat roared past above them. The air was sizzling hot and impossible to breathe. It scorched their throat and lungs. Their clothes didn't offer any protection either. The heat licked at their skin, even through their jackets, shirts, and pants.

They didn't dare raise their heads until about twenty seconds later. The massive two story stone house they had been standing next to no longer existed. All that was left was one wall that had survived by some kind of miracle. There were flames still roaring and licking the stones. A broad spiral of black smoke was rising up into the sky. What kind of jutsu could do that and who did it? Where were all the people?

"We should really get out of here, like yesterday!" yelled Sasuke. His soot and mud covered face couldn't quite conceal the tension that hovered around him. "This is getting too dangerous for us to handle."

"But what about Raya? We can't leave him!" shouted Naruto stridently over the deafening sounds of the surrounding battle, "And what about all the innocent civilians around here too? We can't just abandon them."

"Jiraiya is a Sannin; there is no way we will leave him. I want to join in his fight!" bellowed Sasuke while gesturing towards the ongoing battle.

"What about the civilians?" yelled Naruto again, "We were told to evacuate the village. We can assemble everyone at the mill for their safety."

Sasuke gritted his teeth at possibly missing the fight. "Fine, but we need to hurry," he grudgingly replied. "Keep looking for them."

They each went in a different direction, urging the people to leave the area until it was safe. When they gathered as many people as they could, Sasuke said eagerly, "Let's go join in the fight now." His Sharingan blazed with hunger.

"Should we not stay and protect the villagers?" asked Sai with concern.

"They'll be alright here. There isn't anybody around to harm them. They're all fighting Raya," replied Naruto quickly. "Come on, I want to try out my new jutsu."

"I can't help but think this might be a bad decision," said Sai quietly.

"Come on Aho, bad decisions make for really good stories," joked Naruto. "If it will make you feel better, I'll leave some clones here." He focused his chakra and made twenty clones appear.

Sai ignored the funny feeling in the pit of his stomach and followed his brothers into battle, confidant in his abilities. He had to admit to himself that he was a little eager too. He was a shinobi after all.

They set out towards the Sannin to assist in the battle. He had moved out of the village and was fighting at the top of a steep rise. There appeared to be only one left; a shinobi wearing a black robe with red clouds.

They raced up the hill then stopped in utter shock and amazement at the scene before them. Never before, had they ever witnessed such devastation. The few storage buildings in the area were on fire; their contents littered the ground and clung to the branches of tilted trees. Twisted sheets of metal ripped from buildings were strewn among the graveyard. Many headstones had been pushed flat to the ground.

The Sannin and the rogue shinobi's movements were nothing but a blur as they battled. They caught a glimpse of a segmented tail whipping around and narrowly missing the Sannin. Body parts littered the surrounding area and a head rolled over to where they stood. Sai nudged it with his sandal and said, "It's wood. The bodies must have been puppets."

Sasuke and Naruto gaped at the sheer power and speed of the men. They could only dream of the day when they would be that good. They all looked for a way to aid Jiraiya, who had never looked so serious before, but before they could do anything, it happened.

Another building exploded. They all turned around and stared in stunned horror; shading their eyes against the white hot glare as they witnessed the new devastation.

A great spout of flame had ruptured skyward, trailing a mass of fluttering steel machinery, wood, and paper. In that terrible space between seconds, they saw that the entire mill was a gutted, flaming ruin.

Concussion struck a moment later, knocking them backwards. Debris blew past them in a sudden and colossal charge, along with a blast of warm air. They picked themselves up and began to run faster, but it was too late. Several of the villagers had been ripped apart from the blast.

In the chaotic aftermath, they saw a man in a black robe with red clouds standing over the dead body of the village leader and holding Fū by the arm. Some of the adults were holding onto the children. Shibuki was crying and trying to reach for his father.

The shinobi was grinning wide. He crooked his finger the boys, daring them to come closer. When they hesitated, he wagged it, as though chastising a small child. He hissed, "What naughty little boys. And to think, your precious friend here came so willingly to me so that you wouldn't be hurt."

There was an enormous flash of blinding blue light and the Taki Jinchuriki screamed out in pain. Her eyes were bugging out, her hair was on end, and it looked liked she was dancing. Smoke began to furl out from her shirt. There was another sizzling flash and it stopped.

They boys tried to get to Fū, but it was too late. She fell to the ground jerking and writhing and then with a heavy, final thump, fell silent and still. Shibuki broke away from the villager holding him, ran to his father's body and began to cry.

"Fū!" the trio yelled helplessly. They all wanted nothing more than to grieve the loss of their friend, but the monster in front of them had to be dealt with.

The horror of witnessing Fū's death devastated Sasuke. The tomoe of his Sharingan spread and converged along the edge of its iris and took on the appearance of three intersecting ellipses. The Mangekyō …

Naruto's rage went unnoticed. Several teeth began to elongate and the whisker marks on his cheek grew more noticeable.

Sai felt as though a hand was squeezing his heart and crushing it; a very real and physical pain he couldn't dwell upon at the moment. His gaze narrowed and his mouth drew into a grim line.

"I see Suien's information was correct. It looks like we do have a little Uchiha prodigy here. This looks like my lucky day." An impossibly long tongue slid out of his mouth and he licked his chin. "That's what happens when you let enemies go free, little boys and now everyone will pay."

One of the villagers tried to run away. The robed nin turned, his hands swiftly flowing through seals, and cast a jutsu. Great sheets of fire flung up from the ground surrounding him. Naruto saw the man's hair ignite. He quickly used the Marine Battle Formation Jutsu to extinguish the fire. Shrill and terrible screaming echoed around him. The nin was burning the other villagers.

Many had already turned into blazing pyres. Old granny Shio, who had been so nice to him, stared in horror as her family was burned alive. The freak stood laughing insanely. He stretched his pale arms out in front of him, blue-black tongues of fire seething off his fingertips. A tornado of blood-red flames whirled in his open mouth and dragon's breath spouted out to engulf her.

The unexpectedness and ferocity of the murders shocked silence into Naruto. Nausea rolled through him, and a sudden deluge of bitter saliva covered his mouth against the acidic rush from his stomach.

Clenching his teeth, taking rapid breaths, he swallowed hard and suppressed the queasiness by opening the tap on his anger. It flowed through him in an enormous wave, almost crushing him. The senseless killings sickened, frightened, and enraged him more than anything ever had before.

Sai raised an earthen wall separating the rest of the villagers from the enemy shinobi and stood in front of it with his sword drawn. Sasuke also had his sword out, engulfed in a sparking blaze of electricity, and drew closer to defend the people. Naruto snapped out of his stupor and created hundreds of shadow clones who raced behind the wall, scooped up the remaining people, and ran off with them. In his hand, the Rasengan howled. He leapt forward; hand outstretched and rammed it into the shinobi.

The pale man smirked evilly and substituted himself with an innocent villager. Naruto watched in horror, unable to stop his forward momentum as it struck true. The man flew back with a pained shriek and landed hard on the ground. He didn't move.

"No," screamed Naruto, "Oh Kami, what have I done?"

"Aw, too bad kid..." The black robed man pulled out a kunai and introduced himself with a slight bow of his head, "I am Lord Orochimaru."

Naruto sucked in his breath at the name, remembering the Mizuki incident. "What do you want with us?" he asked angrily. His stomach churned harder than ever with an acidic tide that seemed corrosive enough to dissolve steel nails in an instant if he ate them. Indeed, he felt as though he had eaten about a pond of nails. His godfather told all of them about what the man was capable of doing.

"I don't want you at all, little Jinchuriki; it's the Uchiha I want. What do you say Sasuke? Do you want to join me and get power like you've never seen before?"

"Tch, as if I would want to join some crazy man," he said snidely. "What kind of power could you offer me that would be worthwhile? You are a rogue-nin."

"Power is living while others inevitably perish. Power is indifference to their suffering. Power is taking nourishment from the deaths of others. Real power is created from the burning desires of the soul."

Sasuke scoffed, "That's not power; that's madness."

"You're - you're crazy, old man," growled Naruto furiously. "Real power means you protect people, not what you just did. Nobody listen to his spew anymore. He killed those poor defenseless villagers. He needs to go down."

"I agree," said Sasuke with a determined look in his eye. Although he was a bit uneasy and apprehensive, fierce glee rushed through him. The speed and quickness of battle fed into him a rush of adrenaline. He would not have wished to be anywhere else in the world then where he stood at that moment.

"Yes," agreed Sai, pulling out shuriken from his pouch. "There is nothing like combat to accelerate a ninja's development."

* * *

**~~O~~**

They got into defensive stances. Sasuke created a wall of fire in front of him while Naruto used Whirlwind Fist to blow the flames into Orochimaru, creating a blazing firestorm that left the surrounding area scorched. Sai quickly drew lions which jumped off the scroll with ferocious roars.

Orochimaru was faster than anything they had ever seen. Sasuke had no idea how to use the Mangekyo and could barely track the shinobi's movements. In a flash, he was behind him. Sasuke tried to turn, but he wasn't fast enough. Orochimaru slammed the heel of his hand against the side of his head, sending sparks across the backs of his eyes and then clubbed his fist against the nape of his neck.

Two big snakes crawled out of Orochimaru's sleeves and coiled around the lions, squeezing until they burst in a splash of ink. He sent more after Sai, who deftly jumped onto the back of an ink hawk to escape. He furiously made hand seals until spikes of earth burst from the ground. Sai dropped exploding tags at the evading Sannin. All of them missed. Realizing distance attacks were useless against the shinobi, he jumped off the bird to get in closer.

* * *

**~~O~~**

Sasuke didn't even know he had fallen. He opened his eyes to a much lower view of the earth. The Sannin, Orochimaru was closing in on his comrades. He jumped to his feet, shaking away the cobwebs that clung to his mind and raced towards them. Impossibly fast pillars of earth kept rising from the ground, causing him to slow as he twisted his way through them while cursing his nonfunctioning Sharingan.

Naruto was barely able to stop himself in time as another spike erupted from the earth; a mere breath away from being impaled, he unevenly exhaled. He barely glanced at the deep gorge that suddenly split the earth under his feet. He quickly leapt over it when Orochimaru threw something at him – a kunai with a paper tag attached.

He couldn't dodge it in time. Naruto saw it glow bright orange for a second, and then squeezed his eyes shut right before it detonated. The blast threw him flying backwards. He was weightless for a brief heartbeat as he tumbled over and down into the huge chasm.

Sai appeared at the edge and quickly looked down.

Naruto was clinging to the side of the gorge with his chakra. He shouted, "Watch those damn spikes, Aho; this one down here nearly skewered me!" He grabbed Sai's outstretched hands and was swiftly yanked up. They both turned and stumbled back, nearly falling back into the chasm. The cloaked man was a foot from them.

And he was grinning…

* * *

**~~O~~**

Orochimaru was having no problems dealing with the three brats. In a lightning fast movement, his kunai came down in a shining arc directly at Naruto. Sai shoved the blonde aside, taking the strike meant for him. The steel blade slide into his chest to its hilt and blood began to ooze from around the handle and splash onto the ground.

He looked down at himself, and put his hands weakly around the haft of the kunai. Dizziness and nausea washed over him as he pulled it out. Sai could taste blood, bright and slick, in the back of his throat. Smoke, acrid and chocking was drifting into his face. His hand glowed green with healing chakra as he attempted to stop the flow of blood.

Sasuke; who had finally made his way through the roiling earth, witnessed his comrade being injured. He howled in rage and with a speed never having accomplished before, practically flickered to his side. He pulled Sai away from the missing nin and leaned him against a tree at the edge of the battleground. "Are you alright?" he shouted above the tumultuous din.

He barely heard the pale boy as he said through grim lips, "I will live. Apparently, today is not my day to die."

Sasuke had to get back to Naruto. Something was seriously wrong.

Naruto was crouching on his hands and feet. His eyes were slitted and red and a cloak of bubbling, red chakra had formed around him. A tidal wave of terrifying pressure rolled over Sasuke, choking him. His arms shook fiercely as he fought the urge to impale himself with the kunai in his hand.

He abruptly felt Orochimaru's sudden and terrifying presence behind him. The Uchiha pulled another kunai from his pouch, whirled about, and hunched down to present a smaller target - ready to defend his teammate.

Before he could do anything, a puff of smoke appeared at his right and as it dissipated, a huge toad appeared. Its tongue whipped out and wrapped around Sai, swallowing him whole. Out it came again, and before Sasuke could shout, he too was swallowed.

* * *

**~~O~~**

A few minutes later, the toad's mouth opened, revealing a world so different from the battle-torn one they had just left. Slow and unsure, they walked out. A vast, green ocean of grass greeted them. Sasuke's feet tangled and he fell in a heap next to an odd looking tree. He lay silent, breathing raggedly, his hot face in the cool grass. Sai just stared ahead in mute horror for a moment before he fell to the ground and buried his face in his hands.

Tears of shame began to flow from Sasuke's face, scorching and heavy. Sai howled in misery. "Naruto!" they cried out.

Sasuke clutched Sai to him and held him tight while the other boy wrapped his arms around him and sobbed. "Ninjas aren't supposed to cry," he said brokenly while wiping his cheeks with one hand and spreading soot everywhere. Sai nodded once and wiped his face on his sleeve. "He's our brother, we'll get him back where he belongs…with us."

"Fū is dead, isn't she?" Sai asked brokenly.

They both thought at the same time, _"And it's all my fault…"_

* * *

**~~Naruto's Rage~~**

Sasuke was murdered in front of him. Sai was torn to pieces. These visions tortured him. Genjutsu…

Sasuke had spent hours putting him and Sai under them so that they could learn how to defend themselves. While Naruto was still bad at creating them, he did recognize when he was in one. Focusing all of his chakra tightly, he made the ram seal and shouted, "Release!"

Sai was hurt; blood was pouring out from his chest. Sasuke was standing next to him. Was he hurt? He didn't know. This time he knew it wasn't genjutsu. A haze settled over his vision as an unfettered rage consumed and overwhelmed him.

Although Naruto had taken life long ago on accident, he had never intentionally tried killing someone. But he was ready to kill now, and he knew he could do it without any hesitation, with no thought of mercy, with a vengeance, because Orochimaru had empowered him to do it. This is what the rogue ninja had reduced him to – this blind, bestial fury – and the worst thing was that it felt good, this rage, so good in comparison to the fear and helplessness he had endured. A sweet singing of rushing blood flowed through his veins lending him an incredible sense of savage and almost animalistic strength.

The boy knew that he should have been appalled at the lust for blood that seized him, but he liked it and he knew that he would like it even more when he got the shinobi in his clutches and destroyed him for killing the villagers and hurting his friends. Naruto's eyes turned red and slitted. His mouth turned up into a wide feral grin before he slipped into darkness as deep as a dead man's dream.

* * *

**~~Awake~~**

When Naruto opened his eyes, he discovered that his surroundings had changed. He stood ankle deep in water in front of a massive cage with a seal on it. Evil, radiant red eyes glowed from within. A deep malicious voice rumbled, **"So you've come at last. Do you want to avenge them little human? Do you want to kill the man that did it?"**

Naruto cleared his throat, and finally the words broke loose: "No, no, it's on me, oh Kami, all those people died because of me." Tears threatened to spill from his eyes, but fury took over and he growled out, "I must stop him before he kills the rest of them."

"**You are too weak, you puny little kit."** The demon made a frightening sound that the boy soon realized was laughter.

Too angry to be scared, he breathed heavily and demanded impatiently, "Let me out of here now; I don't have any time for this! I have to finish this fight and crush that man."

"**Oh, so you need power?"** chuckled the Kyuubi, **"I can help you with that."**

* * *

**AN:**

Thanks to my beta **cookiemonster77** – You are the bomb!

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed/followed/favorited my story. I can't say too many times how much that truly has inspired me to write this story. You all are awesome! Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions, comments, and/or suggestions. I'm here.

**AZFAERYDUST**


	10. The Tailed Beast Shroud

Disclaimer: Guess what…I still don't own Naruto and I'm still so sad about it.

* * *

**_Chapter Ten:_**

**_The Tailed Beast Shroud_**

_It's hiding in the dark, its teeth are razor sharp  
There's no escape for me  
It wants my soul, it wants my heart_

_No one can hear me scream, maybe it's just a dream  
Or maybe it's inside of me, stop this monster!_

_~Skillet~_

When Naruto opened his eyes, he discovered that his surroundings had changed. He stood ankle deep in water in front of a massive cage with a seal on it. Evil, radiant red eyes glowed from within. A deep malicious voice rumbled, **"So you've come at last."**

Naruto, too angry to be scared, breathed heavily and demanded impatiently, "Let me out of here now; I don't have any time for this! I have to finish this fight and crush that man."

**"Oh, so you need power?"** chuckled the Kyuubi, **"I can help you with that."**

Naruto was no fool. This was the demon that almost destroyed Konohagakure in a moment of unbridled rage. His tone alone spoke volumes – this was not a creature that could be trusted. "I don't want or need your power."

**"Not even to kill the man who murdered your friends?"** he asked sinuously.

Naruto scoffed, "Their not dead. I saw through Orochimaru's genjutsu. They were hurt, but they definitely weren't dead."

The demon growled**, "You didn't see everything human. You didn't see what just happened. Look…look down there."** An image appeared in the rippling water; Sai was jerking and twisting in a spasmodic death dance across the stone lined pathways that graced the village. He looked like a puppet being jerked on tangled strings. Sasuke was lying in the grass unmoving, his sightless eyes staring accusingly at him. Orochimaru's massive snake struck the ground, hitting it like an earthquake. Each and every building including the walls of the mountain was reduced to dust, engulfing the village in flames. The streets flowed with blood and echoed with the screams of the wounded.

He stared; too horrified to cry.

He stared; too devastated to scream.

He stared; too demoralized to mourn.

And he saw it.

He stared; his shoulders sagging with relief, his eyes losing the shadows that had threatened to overcome him.

He stared; letting out a hysterical short laugh, unable to hide his relief…

Naruto imagined himself holding a rolled up newspaper and swatting the Kyuubi on the nose with it. With an odd lilt in his voice, he said, "You're one sick, twisted, naughty little fox, aren't you? I hope you live a long time trapped within me. I'm going to train you right."

**"You don't care that your friends are dead, human?!"** roared the demon.

"Of course I do, but my friends aren't dead. My name is Naruto… not human, and you are a fool. Sai is not, nor has he ever been an Uchiha, so why does he have that little fan on the back of his shirt? You are just trying to trick me and it's not going to work!" He shook his fist at the cage and demanded, "Let me out of here now!"

**"It's too late; your anger has drawn my chakra."** The demon smiled wide, closed his eyes and laid them on his paws. His teeth gleamed in the dark as he said, **"You'll be back. The time will come when you'll want to release me and take all the pain away. I will kill them all for you. In the mean time…enjoy a little taste…"**

* * *

**~~O~~**

Jiraiya burst into the scene to see Sasuke lean Sai against a tree. Naruto lay on the ground enveloped in red chakra. His old friend, Orochimaru had his neck stretched out to an impossible length. The head was aiming straight at Sasuke's back while a clone was in front of him. The boy had no idea of the danger he was in. Jiraiya bit his thumb and summoned a toad. "Take them home," he yelled as he rushed forward to engage his former teammate.

The huge toad appeared close to the boys. Its tongue whipped out and wrapped around Sai, swallowing him. Sasuke turned towards Orochimaru and took a step backwards before assuming a defensive position. He didn't see the venomous fangs inches from his neck. Something wrapped itself around his waist and jerked him to the toad. Its wide mouth opened and he disappeared into it.

A lesser man, whose emotions were not exquisitely balance by his intellect, might have succumbed to rage. Orochimaru was not a lesser man. His old team mate Jiraiya was here, as evidenced by the toad that just stole his prize away. No matter… there were plenty more Uchiha in the world to pick from. He turned to look at the new challenge before him, Jiraiya, the toad Sannin.

Orochimaru smiled and hissed, "Are you ready to face me Jiraiya? You always were second rate. You couldn't beat me when you were in your prime and you certainly can't beat me now, old man."

The white-haired sage was about to respond when Naruto suddenly howled.

* * *

**~~The Shroud~~**

The boy opened his eyes and saw the body of Fū. He was overcome by the rage that beat steadily within him. The stronger and more powerful chakra of the Kyuubi claimed him. Naruto felt its power rushing through his chakra network. Sai and Sasuke were no where to be seen, but he somehow knew they were safe. The people of Waterfall were not. Too many lay dead around him.

He snarled and then opened his mouth wide and emitted an ear splitting roar that shook the very leaves on the trees behind him. Translucent bubbling red chakra formed a shroud around his body and paws of chakra surrounded his hands.

His body underwent further transformation. Naruto, on all fours now; barely resembled a human child any longer. Pain coursed through his body as muscles tore and bones broke. Orochimaru laughed as though delighted by what he saw.

No longer swift or surefooted, Naruto was like a mindless raging bull. He charged straight towards the Sannin.

Both men jumped out of the way, but his speed was too fast. Orochimaru was a fraction too slow as an arm made from chakra whipped out, snatched his ankle, and flung him across the battlefield.

"Naruto!" shouted Jiraiya, "Hold on!"

Never losing his balance, Orochimaru slid to a stop and called out, "Such raw power…It's magnificent." Naruto's fury made him unable to distinguish between friend and foe and he attacked without mercy, oblivious to the consequences. He swiped at Jiraiya and then at Orochimaru, missing both times.

He charged again, roaring with bestial ferocity. He was almost upon the Snake Sannin again when the man disappeared. Naruto jerked his head right and left, looking for the enemy when he reappeared behind him. "Maybe Namikaze would be better than Uchiha," Orochimaru hissed.

The thick corrosiveness of the Kyuubi's chakra was too much for even Orochimaru to handle. One side of his face burned black the instant he touched the boy's skin, but he pushed on and sunk his fangs into him.

Naruto staggered for a moment before shaking his head, the poison dripping from his neck as his body rejected it. His eyes narrowed and he hissed, and then launched himself with renewed fury at the Sannin, who just laughed and sinuously dodged the flailing arms.

"You will pay for what you've done here," gritted out Naruto in a guttural voice barely passed for human.

A dark red, nearly black layer of chakra enveloped the boy. His muscle mass increased and ears become clearly defined, and then the unthinkable occurred; a tail emerged, followed quickly by another. A crater formed beneath his feet from the stronger and more powerful chakra that poured out of him. His strength and speed increased. This time as the transformed boy charged, Orochimaru wasn't fast enough to evade. Naruto's chakra arm snatched the Snake Sannin as he was twisting in the air and batted him down.

Like a hunting cat, he pounced and bit. Two bubbling red arms grabbed hold of the man and ripped him in two; the pieces landing with a sickening wet thud on the battered ground. The Toad Sage stared in shock as the upper half began to wiggle and twitch. An undamaged body slick with saliva emerged from the old one. Orochimaru pulled his new body to a standing position and laughed again, immensely pleased with himself.

"What have you done to yourself?" asked Jiraiya disgustedly.

"I have gone further than anyone else has ever dared."

Naruto roared again. He created a tailed beast ball from his chakra arms and shot it at Orochimaru.

It narrowly missed the Sannin, who was now longer laughing. Now he was ready to get serious. His body became snake-like. He opened his mouth wide as a sword came out. It impaled Naruto to the burning mill. Jiraiya tried to get to the boy, but was blocked as the battered Sasori appeared.

He needed help. He knew he would have difficulties against two such mighty foes as these. Jiraiya summoned Gamabunta to help contain the Jinchuriki while he battled the puppet master and Orochimaru.

Sasori took in the situation and wisely knew to back off. Although he felt certain he and Orochimaru could take on the rampaging Jinchuriki and probably the giant toad, he knew that they couldn't battle the Sannin as well. It would not be possible to obtain both Jinchuriki right now.

It was time to gather their prize and escape. He snatched the barely breathing body of Fū with his tail. "You're making us late," he growled out in a harsh grating voice to Orochimaru. "We have the seven tails; what's left of it anyways. We're leaving." His fight with the sanin had clearly worn him out. His clothes were in tatters. "Your obsession with the Uchiha cost us the nine tails. You know our leader will not be pleased with your actions today."

Also knowing it was time to leave, Orochimaru shrugged indifferently, pulled the sword from Naruto's body, and retracted it back down his throat. He removed his cloak and let it drop to the ground. "My time with your organization has come to its end anyways. You can send your leader my regards." He glanced over at the toad sage and added, "You won't be able to keep your eyes on them all of the time Jiraiya. Sooner or later, I will get an Uchiha and the Akatsuki will get your little Jinchuriki pet too."

In an instant, both men were gone. Jiraiya wanted to give chase; however, Naruto was growing another tail. He would soon be beyond help. With a curse, he frantically searched through his pack, withdrawing a paper seal he had hoped he would never have to use.

The Sannin charged forward, narrowly avoiding the tail that lashed out towards him. He slapped the tag on the boy's forehead a second before he was slammed in the chest by a clawed hand. Feeling several ribs break, he was hurled backwards across the burning mill and into another building. He crashed into the wall hard enough to hear the windows break, his teeth snapping together so forcefully that he would have bitten off his tongue if it had been in the way.

Jiraiya collapsed on his face, sucking up dust and ash, struggling to recapture the breath that had been knocked out of him. He raised his head from the ground to see the chakra receding from the boy. Naruto stood there for a moment in confusion before falling down.

A loud crack came from above him. With tremendous effort, he rolled out of the way just in time to dodge the wall that came crashing down.

Jiraiya got up on his hands and knees, choking on the dirt and ash caught in the back of his throat. Every cough sent a quiver of pain through his chest, which he ignored. His felt as if his rib cage was a vise that had closed around his heart and lungs. Grimacing at the pain in his chest, the Sannin staggered to his feet and weaved towards the injured boy that lay in a heap on the ground. He fell beside Naruto and cradled him to his chest.

"Naruto," he wheezed, "Naruto, answer me."

One lid slowly cracked open; the blue orb glazed over in agony, he tried to speak. In barely a whisper, he asked, "Where…?"

"They're fine," he hastily assured the boy in relief. "I promise you, Sai and Sasuke are in a safe place where no one can harm them. I'm going to take you there as soon as you are healed."

Naruto, no longer able to hold onto consciousness, closed his eyes once again. The darkness of sleep calmed his mind and body as he tried in vain to heal.

The survivors of the village stumbled around in confusion, crying and screaming. Jiraiya bandaged the semi-conscious boy as best he could, picked him up and raced down the sheer face off the mountain. Although his chakra reserves were dangerously low due to the fight with the Akatsuki member, he went into sage mode and ran faster than he ever had in his life towards the closest hidden village with a hospital capable of healing the boy's grievous injuries.

He ran to Kusagakure.

* * *

**Naruto's Omake**

This Omake is dedicated to Cookiemonster77, who dreamed it up! So the setting is Konoha. Naruto is a sweet (yeah – right!), innocent (again – yeah right!) eight year old boy. He had just started something that would go down in the history books as the first ever village-wide prank wars.

**~~O~~**

He had to win; he just had too… Naruto sat in his bedroom thinking and planning the greatest prank the world had ever seen. What could he do?

He could put dye in the Hyuga's water supply so that all of their pretty white clothes would be pink.

Nah, not good enough… and besides, he was still banned from ever touching dye again… hmm, what to do? Naruto got up and began to pace around the room.

He could hide all the clothes at the spas again…oh wait, that's right; he was still banned from going within fifty feet of a spa because of the whole bubble bath incident… hmm, what to do?

The movie theatre…! He could… oh wait, that's right; he was still banned from that place too… hmm, what to do?

Naruto frowned and tried to think of a place he hadn't been forbidden from yet. Anbu headquarters nearly had a kill on sight order for him as did the KMP, every restaurant quickly put up closed signs when he walked past and someone in the market district trained dogs to attack when they smelled him coming.

Hmm, what to do?

There was that new little club that all the kunoichi liked to go to…the one that had the sign saying 'All Male Review' (whatever that was!). Hmm, what could he do?

Naruto's eyes lit up and he smiled that certain wide smile…the smile that people who knew him, would cringe in fear at the sight. The smile that sent women and children running and screaming…

* * *

**~~O~~**

**"NARUTO UZUMAKI HATAKE, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"**

Naruto awoke to something wrapping itself around his ankles. He threw off the covers and gasped. His skin turned cold and clammy, his breath came out in short little bursts, he tried to scream…nothing happened.

His chest was too constricted, his terror too great…

He tried again.

"daddy," he whispered.

He tried again.

"Daddy?"

He tried again.

**"DADDY!"**

Kakashi came running into the room to find it filled with snakes. Anko stood outside the window perched in the tree along with about fifteen other kunoichi. They were all wet, bedraggled, and VERY angry. Mascara was running down their cheeks like black tears and lipstick was smeared across their cheeks. Truly, if he wasn't so worried about his pup, he would be on the floor rolling in laughter. They looked like a posse of insane clones.

"Don't kill him," begged Kakashi instead, "I swear I'll punish him this time!"

"You keep saying that, but you never do!" shouted one of the women.

"He's got to pay the price this time!" screamed another.

Naruto whimpered as one of the snakes slithered down his pajama bottoms and touched his butt cheek. "Daddy, help me," he pled.

"Let him go Anko, I promise I'll punish him."

Naruto tried to brush a snake away from his face, but the large one around his chest squeezed tighter. "One of 'um is trying to get up my nose daddy."

"Anko," he growled warningly as several bared their fangs and struck at his legs.

She just stared back blankly while another kunoichi yelled, "Look at what that brat did to us!"

Not taking his eyes off the snake mistress, Kakashi said, "You need to apologize son."

Another snake crawled up his pant leg. Naruto stared at it, eyes wide with horror, and blubbered, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I swear I'll never do it again. I'm sorry! Please Anko, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it! Please make them go away, please, please, please?"

The snakes disappeared as Anko climbed into the room. She poked the boy in the forehead and said, "If I ever find another one of your little water pits again, my snakes will have you for lunch, do you understand?"

"Yes. I'm sorry. Um, could you please get the one that's trying to crawl into my underwear?"

Anko giggled. "That one's a little twisted," she said as she pulled out an extremely long black snake by its tail. It hissed and snapped playfully at Naruto with poisoned fangs. "I think he likes you," she said.

Kakashi jerked Naruto into his arms and glared at her as the boy burst into tears and buried his head in his shoulders. "That was a little excessive, don't you think Anko? He's only eight years old!"

"The little gaki deserved it!" she shouted. "You better remember what I said Hatake. He better be punished or you wake up covered in snakes next."

"I heard you, now get out of my house. And by the way," he added icily, "Naruto may do stupid thoughtless things, but that doesn't make him a brat." He calmly pointed to the window then carried the still sobbing boy from the room to his.

"D-Daddy, (sob) wh-what are (sob) y-you gonna (sob) do to m-me?" cried the boy. "It w-was (sob) only s-supposed (sob) to be a joke. I did-didn't (sob) mean to m-make them so mad at m-me."

Kakashi peered into Naruto's tear-filled blue eyes and felt a deep pang. _Be tough; be tough, the boy needs to be punished… _He just couldn't do it. He just couldn't… "Mah, I think you learned your lesson right?" He wiped the tears away and - _ew! Snot bubbles - _made him blow his nose.

"Yes daddy. I'll never prank another kunoichi cause they're mean and scary."

"Yup, I'll say you learned a very important lesson," he said dryly.

**~~O~~**

The next night when Kakashi awoke with thousands of snakes wrapped around him, he calmly pulled them off and laughed. "I am a shinobi," he said aloud, "Do you really think a few serpents would bother me?"

He ran from the room with a pounding heart when he heard the squirrel.

* * *

**~~O~~**

**Bet you thought Naruto's greatest fear is snakes...nope - a really mad kunoichi is way worse!**

* * *

**~~An Omake of an Omake!~~**

Kakashi was waiting for the rest of his team to arrive for a new mission when Guy approached. He rolled his eyes and thought _"What now?"_

Guy swaggered up to him and stated in an extremely loud and carrying voice, "Kakashi, my eternal rival, I heard you had a little incident with a squirrel that that you running for your life in a very un-youthful manner."

Kakashi glanced away from the window and said, "Wait, start over. I wasn't paying attention."

"I said, I heard you had a little incident with a squirrel that that you running for your life."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said coolly.

"That's not what I heard," said Genma with a snigger.

Kakashi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "First of all," he defended, "It wasn't one squirrel, it was like a hundred… and they were all rabid… and angry. You should have seen their mean, red, beady little eyes. They were foaming at the mouth so I simply calmly and rationally vacated my room in a swift and timely manner."

"Uh huh," snorted Asuma. "So does that mean you don't want this?" he asked, throwing a dead squirrel at the silver-haired jonin.

The jonin station was quickly evacuated as lightning exploded through the windows and a tidal wave of water burst out of the doors.

* * *

**AN**

Thanks to my beta cookiemonster77!

Just you just hate how a lot of the bad guys are all kinda alike. My beta pointed out that Orochimaru is a lot like Lord Voldamort and he definitely is. The Kyuubi even has some of the same qualities. That's why my favorite bad guy is an anti-hero type like Kisame, Pein, and Itachi. Raise your hands if you teared up even a little when they died!

Did anyone get this funny little moment of mine? I caught it when I was doing my final draft!

**_"I will get an Uchiha and the Akatsuki will get your little Jinchuriki pet too."_**

Hint…

"I'll get you my pretty... and your little dog too!" (Wizard of Oz!)

Thank you to everyone who favorited/followed/commented!

**AZFAERYDUST**


	11. A New Day

**DISCLAIMER: **No matter how much I want it, I do not own Naruto. I am still only borrowing the characters and only killing off a few…I promise to return them in good condition – well, maybe slightly battered!

Again - huge shout out to my beta, **COOKIEMONSTER77**!

* * *

**Chapter Eleven:**

**_A New Day_**

_All our times have come_

_Here but now they're gone_

_Seasons don't fear the reaper_

_~Blue Oyster Cult~_

During the twelve hour journey, Naruto never regained consciousness. The destructive toxicity of the tailed beast shroud wreaked havoc upon the boy's frail human body. He maintained a tenuous grasp on life while his body desperately tried to heal itself. The only sign of life was the slight rise and fall of his chest. Jiraiya had never felt so helpless in his whole life. He was deeply concerned about the other boys as well, but couldn't do anything about it yet.

It was still hours from dawn when they arrived at the village gate. Jiraiya didn't pause but for a second; enough for the guards to recognize him, but not enough to talk. He rushed towards the hospital with them in hot pursuit.

He shoved the boy into the first medic's arms that he found then shakily breathed a sigh of relief. Anbu arrived not long after. They found the Sannin sitting calmly in a chair in the lobby waiting for them.

Knowing what was coming, he said, "Can we please wait until I hear some news of the boy before you take me in? I'm not going anywhere until then."

* * *

**~~O~~**

A white walled room.

A narrow bed.

Night at the windows.

He drifted in and out of bad dreams, each one of Waterfall. Every time he regained consciousness, which was never longer than a minute or two, he saw the same beloved man hovering over him, Jiraiya. He needed to talk to him, but couldn't even open his mouth before the gut-wrenching pain became too much and he slipped back into the numbing darkness.

Sometimes the Pervy Sage would be talking to him, but he wasn't able to get his blurry mind to focus enough to hear or understand the words. He lifted Naruto's head off the pillow and encouraged him to drink cool water through a straw. Even though it made him feel like a baby, Naruto did not protest.

Besides, he had neither the voice nor the strength to argue. His throat felt as if he had swallowed a gallon of sake and a match. He did not even have the energy to lift his hand off the sheets. Inside, he was screaming from the pain. His lips moved, but no sound came out. _Where's Sasuke? Where's Sai?_

"Just rest," said his godfather kindly.

As soon as Naruto drifted off again, Jiraiya went out into the hallway where a jonin waited. He regretted having to leave, but he had to. He needed to retrieve the other two boys; not only for their sakes, but Naruto's as well. He needed to see them when he awoke again to ease his mind.

"I won't be long," he instructed, "Don't let anyone in until I return."

At the man's nod, Jiraiya quickly left the hospital. He summoned a toad to take him to their home where Sai and Sasuke waited.

* * *

**~~Mount Myōboku~~**

When the toad's mouth opened, it revealed a world so different from the battle-torn one they had just left. Slow and unsure, they walked out. A vast, green ocean of grass greeted them. After all that cacophony of destruction, the silence was so profound, they felt as though they went deaf. The air no longer reeked of smoke and ash. It was clean and pure.

…and so wrong…

Tears of shame began to flow from Sasuke's face, scorching and heavy. Sai howled in misery. "Naruto!" they cried out.

In a move of rare tenderness, Sasuke hugged Sai to him and promised them both. "He's our brother, we'll get him back where he belongs…with us."

"Fū is dead, isn't she?" Sai asked brokenly.

They both thought at the same time, _"And it's all my fault…"_

"It looked like it," replied Sasuke with a hitch. "We can't do anything about it right now." He pulled Sai's shirt off and tried to staunch the flowing blood with gauze from his pack. There was so much, it worried him. He couldn't lose this brother too. "Can you stop it? Do you have the strength?"

"I'll try," replied Sai as his hand glowed green. It sputtered out several times before the boy gave up. He was too drained of chakra to do any good. His face grew paler and his arm fell down, too weak to hold it up any more. Seconds later, Sai passed out.

Sasuke worriedly scratched at the dried blood that marked a path from his eyes to his chin. He didn't know what to do. In desperation, he dipped Sai's fingers in the wound, made the summoning seals, and slammed the other boy's hand on the ground.

Kajiarashi was not was he was praying for. "Not you!" he cried out distraughtly, "I need Sai's summons. I need the slugs!" He looked down at Sai. His face was nearly white and his lips were blue. Not good at all.

"Help…! Somebody…! Anybody…!"

Sasuke shook Sai roughly and shouted, "You said today was not your day to die dammit… don't you dare start lying to me Aho!"

Kajiarashi let out a piercing shriek that echoed in Sasuke's ears. The sound was so loud his vision doubled, then tripled. He tried to cover his ears as everything became black…

* * *

**~~O~~**

Blue sky…

Sasuke blinked and struggled to understand why he was moving. He looked down and saw he was floating above the ground. He blinked again. Something held him around the waist. He turned his head and tried not to scream as an enormous green, alien face stared back at him.

He blinked again.

Everything came rushing back.

"Sai!"

"It's alright boy. Calm yourself. He is right here," said a wizened old toad hopping alongside the larger one. "My wife is taking care of him as we speak."

Sasuke looked back to where he pointed and saw that the old geezer was right. Sai was lying on top of another toad while an equally ancient female amphibian was attending to him. "Is…is he really going to be alright?" he asked doubtfully.

"Humph, I told you he was, didn't I," he grumbled.

Sasuke squirmed and then demanded, "Put me down. I need to see him."

As soon as he was released, he leapt up on the toad and crouched down next to the pale boy. Sai's eyes were open. He turned his head and stared at the Uchiha. He said with a pained grimace, "I would never lie to you."

Sasuke squeezed his hand. "Maybe not, but you seem to enjoy making me worry."

"You were worried about me?"

"Well, you owe me a hundred ryo. I can't get that back if you're gone."

"You were worried about me."

"Get your rest, Aho. We need to get back and find Naruto and Jiraiya."

Sai gazed at Sasuke for a moment before he gave a miniscule nod and closed his eyes. A slight smile was on his lips. "Hey Sasuke?" he murmured.

"Hn?"

"Did you forget to wear deodorant today?"

Sasuke stared in shock for all of three seconds before he burst into laughter. It felt so wrong to be laughing at such a time, after all that happened and all those who died, but it was such a relief to hear Sai be so…so Sai. Still chuckling, he said, "Aho, you smell as bad as I do."

* * *

**~~O~~**

The next morning there was still no Jiraiya and definitely no laughter. The full impact of what happened hit them hard. They knew that they had caused the village's destruction by letting Suien go. He showed enemy shinobi the secret location of Waterfall lead them through the barrier. It wouldn't have happened if they had ensured Suien's demise. None of it would have happened…

Sasuke couldn't look at Sai. Every time he did, he saw Sai nearly dying. Shame tore at his insides like a jagged knife. It wouldn't have happened if he had done was he was supposed to do. He was a shinobi now. He didn't do his duty and what's worse; he wasn't strong enough to defeat Orochimaru.

_Where was Naruto? Where was that damn Sannin?_

Sai couldn't look at Sasuke either. Guilt consumed every thought…the blood running down from Sasuke's eyes, the death of Fū…all caused by him. It was all because he allowed Suien to escape. He knew better and yet he did nothing. "_Was Naruto dead because of me? Was Jiraiya?" _He wished he knew.

That night, Jiraiya appeared in MountMyōboku to retrieve them. The boys were silent after having asked only one thing – Is Naruto still alive. The Sannin noticed the haunted looks right away – the same look Naruto now held - and felt saddened by it. It was always such a tragedy to see the loss of innocence in a child. That was the true life of a shinobi. He knew that they would never be the same again. They truly were adults now.

* * *

**~~O~~**

Light at the windows. A new day…

His arms and legs felt leaden and sore…

His body felt worse than ever. Swollen…

"Sai…Sasuke…," he said in a coarse and whispery voice that didn't sound like his own.

"Right here," said Jiraiya, moving his body back so that Naruto could see the bed next to his where the two boys lay sleeping. "They're fine," he quickly reassured when the boy's face lost what little color it had gained. "They aren't hurt now; they're just tired. They refused to leave you when I brought them here last night. The brats stayed up all night waiting for you to wake."

"Naruto?" Sasuke murmured sleepily.

When Naruto twitched, Sasuke jolted awake, nearly knocking Sai off the bed.

"Is he awake now? Is he going to be alright?" Sasuke demanded as he lunged to the other bed and practically shoved Jiraiya out of the way to get to his best friend. The sight of Naruto's bleary blue eyes peeking out beneath the bandages covering his entire head, all but made the Uchiha crumple with relief. "I'm glad to see you baka," he said quietly.

"Still…a…Teme..."

Sai eased over to his other side and touched his face gently. "I too am relieved to see that you have survived."

"Still…an…Aho..."

Naruto struggled to keep his eyes open as he drank in the sight of his best friends alive and well. Each time he blinked, it took longer and longer for the lids to open again. A small smile graced his lips as he drifted out of consciousness again.

* * *

**~~O~~**

A small lamp burning…

The slight sound of movement beside him…

Twilight at the windows...

Naruto was still weary when he awoke; his previous prolonged slumber having done nothing to abate it. He felt enormously heavy; he could lift a foot or move a limb only with effort, and even keeping his head up was a strain on his neck. It was very unsettling to him. It was almost as if Jiraiya had put the strongest resistance seal ever on him. Where was his usual stamina? Virtually every joint in his body ached dully, even his elbow, wrist and finger joints, but especially his knees, hips, and shoulders. He felt feverish, not exactly ill, but as if his strength had been steadily drained to nothing.

"Raya?" he slurred, "What happened to me? Why do I hurt so badly?" He shifted his body the slightest bit then hissed in pain as a bright red blossom spread across his bandaged covered torso.

"Don't move Naruto. The medics have spent a lot of time healing you. You still have quite a bit of skin to regrow."

"I'll try, but it hurts. What happened to me?"

Jiraiya had plenty of time to formulate an answer to that eventual question. He had decided to be honest. He told Naruto about the transformation his body had undergone. "If not for your body's rapid healing abilities, you would be dead," he concluded.

Weariness had not dulled his senses; on the contrary, it sharpened them. After he heard the details of the events at Waterfall, one question remained, "Will this happen to me again?"

The Sannin patted Naruto gently and said, "In truth, I don't know. It seems that the Kyuubi has awakened. Don't worry," he quickly said as fear crossed the boy's face. "I will find a way to help you control it. The seal is still as powerful as ever. Soon you will have to confront the demon. It's about time the nine-tails worked for you."

Naruto shivered. "It has so much hate, Raya." He repeated to himself, "…so much hate." Naruto raised his eyes and tried to repress the fear that coursed through him. "More than anything I've ever seen or felt before."

"…and it hates me."

Jiraiya took the boy's hand in his and gently squeezed it reassuringly. "Don't think about it right now. We will find a way. Don't worry. I'm here for you."

* * *

**~~O~~**

By the early evening, nearly forty-eight hours after Jiraiya brought the injured boy into the hospital, Naruto was sitting up, wide awake and alert. Jiraiya had left to talk with the village leader, leaving the three boys alone.

His muscles were no longer spasming; his chest did not ache when he drew a big breath. Pain still flared over his body periodically. When he spoke, he did so without moving his facial muscles more than was absolutely necessary because the cracks in his lips and corners of his mouth reopened easily. That was fine by him.

Naruto didn't want to talk. He didn't want to think. He didn't want to feel. Every time he looked at Sai and Sasuke all he could think of was his failure. Jiraiya made them write letters home. He said it would help. It didn't.

* * *

**~~O~~**

The next day, Naruto could sit up on his own and move about with only minimal help which Sasuke and Sai were eager to provide. Still, something was wrong. He felt it in his gut. An anxious feeling came over him which he couldn't explain. It was more than his feelings of disappointment in himself and failure. It was similar to the feeling he first got when he met Fū. Another deep pang of regret hit him like a sledgehammer. Fū…

He wanted to tell the others, but they were all avoiding each other's eyes. They probably blamed him because of the villagers dying, because it was his fault, because he urged them to forget about Suien, because he made a stupid joke, because he…

That feeling again.

Stronger.

Dangerous.

He wanted to warn them, but of what…?

Sai tried to finish helping him eat, but he was no longer hungry. His heart was pounding for some reason. Sasuke told him they were going to the cafeteria to get their own food, which he barely heard. Minutes after they left, his mouth went dry.

Coming this way.

Coming fast.

The door slowly opened and someone entered his room; someone he had never seen before, but he somehow knew. The curtain beside his bed was drawn back, the scrape of the rods loud and shrill in his ears…

"Who are you?"

"What are you?"

* * *

**AN:**

I know this chapter is a bit smaller than the others, but I felt that what happens next deserves its own chapter. Big thanks to everyone that has favorited/followed/reviewed - your the peanut butter to my jelly! LOL

Wanted to send a shout out to the guest reviewers since this story started. Sorry I can't PM you - so thanks to:

stephanie, Lazuli, Gamma89, Chi-Chan, Tom Davis, and unnamed guests.


	12. The Other Jinchuriki

**DISCLAIMER: **No matter how much I want it, I do not own Naruto. I am still only borrowing the characters and only killing off a few…I promise to return them in good condition – well, maybe slightly battered!

* * *

Wow, so many reviews and so fast...made me go ahead and publish the next chapter early!

* * *

**Chapter Twelve:**

**_The Other Jinchuriki_**

_I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin  
I must confess that I feel like a monster  
I hate what I've become, the nightmare's just begun  
I must confess that I feel like a monster_

_~Skillet~_

The door slowly opened and someone entered his room; someone he had never seen before, but he somehow knew. The curtain beside his bed was drawn back, the scrape of the rods loud and shrill in his ears…

"Who are you?"

The strange boy stepped closer to Naruto and studied him for a moment. "What are you?" he asked. "Why was I drawn here?"

Naruto put his hand over his stomach as it gave a mighty twist. The startling revelation came to him unbidden in his head. "Tanuki," he said, pointing to the dark rings around the other boy's eyes. "You're a Jinchuriki, aren't you?"

"I don't know what you are talking about, I am Gaara of the sand," said the red-haired boy tonelessly.

"Kitsune," said Naruto touching the whisker marks on his cheek. "And yes, you do. I am the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. We are brothers. I am Naruto." He added cheekily, "…of the leaf!"

"You are not my brother. I have no one. I am death."

Naruto shifted uncomfortably in the bed, a little shocked at the other's response. "Can't you feel it?" he asked quietly and earnestly.

"I feel nothing."

"You aren't alone."

"I will kill you."

Naruto's mouth fell open. He stared for a second before blurting out, "Why?"

"To prove my existence."

_Stranger and stranger…_ "Killing me won't prove your existence."

Sai and Sasuke walked into the room and saw the red-haired boy standing next to Naruto's bed. They could tell instantly that something was wrong. "Get away from him," snarled Sasuke. "You have no business here."

"Why do you care? Don't you want him to die? Isn't he a monster?" asked Gaara. Their reactions confused him. In his experiences, everyone hated him. Everyone wanted him dead. Why should this boy be any different?

"He is no monster," stated Sai. "He is our friend, our comrade, and our brother. We will not allow you to harm him."

"He is a Jinchuriki…a demon."

Sasuke gritted out, "He's not a demon; he's our brother. Now step away from him or I will have to kill you."

"Why don't they hate you?" he asked Naruto. He was honestly baffled at their signs of friendship. "Does your village treat you with respect as the Jinchuriki?"

"Well, no…" he reluctantly admitted, "Most don't… but my father and his friends like me though. My teammates here like me too."

Gaara had come to believe that there was no such thing as love for another. How could he when all he had known was despair, hate, and betrayal? He could only rely upon himself and Shukaku. He was taught that he had to kill to prove his value, to confirm the why he was allowed to exist. _Why would it be any different for this Jinchuriki?_ _Why did he get to have people who cared for him, to love him? Why didn't they hate him?_

The cold hard anger which had been a part of him for so long reared its ugly head. He glared at the boy lying in the bed with narrowed eyes. "_Why does he get to be loved? What made it so that this fellow demon doesn't scare others the way I terrify people around me?" _Gaara felt his stomach twist with an unknown feeling, his hatred for the puzzling riddle increasing.

If he killed the boy, he wouldn't be confused any longer… wouldn't be feeling those weird feelings… His aura turned murderous and sand began to drift out of his gourd…

The door burst open and two new figures burst into the room. "Gaara!" said the relieved kunoichi, "Father told us to find you. We are ready to leave now. Hurry up."

"I don't have to do what you tell me to," he said coldly.

The older boy, who was wearing a black one piece suit and hood with cat ears, gave the murderous boy a frightened look. He swallowed hard and said as soothingly as he could, "It's not Temari who's telling you what to do; it's the Kazekage."

Without a change in his expression, Gaara said flatly, "I am not ready to leave yet. I have someone to kill first. I must prove my strength."

Sai and Sasuke rushed in front of Naruto's bed, tense and ready to defend him while Temari and Kankurō drew back in fear.

From behind the boys taunt forms came Naruto's soft voice. "I still can't get over the fact that you think killing others to prove your existence is true strength. That's bullshit…" Sai and Sasuke parted to allow him to look at Gaara.

Temari and Kankurō winced and turned frightened eyes upon their little brother while the boy continued, "True strength is protecting others. It's keeping the people most precious to you safe." Sai and Sasuke exchanged haunted, guilt-laden looks with one another for their failures and then quickly looked away. "True strength is never giving up and never giving in," concluded Naruto.

"And you two," he suddenly shouted and pointed at the sand siblings, "Aren't you family?" They both gave slight nods at his accusatory glare.

"Family is supposed to love one another, to support one another, and to always be there for one another. Why are you afraid of your own brother?"

"W-Well, we really don't want him to kill us…" stammered Temari.

Kankurō quickly nodded and pled, "Maybe we should leave now Gaara. We don't want to be late for the chunin exams in Konohagakure."

Gaara finally noticed the hitai-ate's on the boy's heads and nodded. He would see them again and finish what he started then; he had too many strange thoughts floating in his head right now and needed to concentrate on them in privacy.

"We will meet again," he promised. Without another word he turned and walked out of the door. The other two sent the trio contemplative looks before they too exited the room.

"We can't leave you alone for a minute, can we?" asked Sasuke.

Naruto let out the breath he didn't know he was holding and fell back on the bed with a pained groan. "Hey, I don't go looking for trouble, it just seems to always come looking for me."

"You better clear space on your calendar," Sai said seriously. "There will be an inquiry."

**~~O~~**

When Jiraiya came back to the hospital, the boys were still not speaking much to each other. Sai was drawing in his pad and Sasuke was studying a scroll. Naruto was pretending to be asleep. Several times he opened his mouth to speak, but in the end decided to wait and give them time. Their emotions were just too raw at the moment.

Less than a week later, Naruto was well enough to travel. The boys left Kusagakure pale and withdrawn. Nightmares seemed to plague them all, but still they didn't want to talk. Every time Jiraiya tried, they would become mute and angry.

The Sannin was greatly relieved to stop at the spa for a few days. He wrote very long and detailed letters to the boy's families to add to theirs and prayed they wouldn't kill him when they arrived in Konoha…especially Kakashi. He knew the man would be beyond furious when he saw the life gone from his boy's eyes.

He had to find a way to release them from their suffering.

* * *

**AN:**

Yes, I know that the boys part is really small here, however it needed seperation from the next chapter. As for the Omake, well, I really hope you like my version of Sakura. She is what she should have been if _Masashi Kishimoto_ wasn't such a sexist! (Still love him despite it - Naruto Rocks!) I had a previous beta tell me that Sakura shouldn't become a medic because it was always done and I agreed, but the more I thought about it, the more I changed my mind again. Sakura just wouldn't be Sakura. Her main focus won't be medical though.

* * *

**Sakura's Omake**

The gentle movement of the swing soothed her. She became aware of the birds singing in the trees overhead, the breeze stirring the dark leaves on the tree. Sunlight filtered through the fading leaves, mingling with the dancing shadows on the ground to create the perfect mosaic. The air held the faintest hint of autumn.

So this is what it feels like to be free of stress…to be calm and peaceful. She didn't think she'd ever known this kind of contentment before. She liked it. Since becoming a genin, life had certainly changed a lot.

Sakura had been constantly trying to meet her parent's high expectations while running from her fears and mistakes for so long, she'd forgotten how to stop and rest. She opened the letter that she had kept in her pouch and read it again.

A shiver of excitement raced down her spine. He was finally coming home after nearly two whole years, but first they had to stop at Takigakure again…the Village Hidden by a Waterfall. That was the place where he and the other two had fought their first battle without Jiraiya Sensei being present.

What a thrilling letter that had been to read. He was so proud of his and his team's accomplishments. She wondered what he thought of hers. He was always been supportive of her and proud of her new training as a medic. All she had done so far were boring D rank missions and a few lousy C rank escorts. She hadn't even engaged any enemies yet.

Sakura felt as though she knew Naruto better than anyone in her life, even Ino. She understood the essentials of him, the shape of the spirit that lived in his heart, the strength of the heart that was the compass of his mind.

Her friend…

At the same time, he remained a mystery to her. He was smart and an idiot, clever and clueless, serious and funny; he was Naruto Uzumaki - the perfect oxymoron.

Now that she was no longer under her mother's thumb she could finally relax and not be so uptight. She looked at the letter again and laughed.

_…so when we woke up, there was a skunk in our tent. I screamed, and tried to get out, but the zipper was stuck. Pervy Sage was outside laughing his butt off at us. We smelled so bad for two weeks. Nothing worked...and I mean nothing! I have never taken so many baths in my life and the worst part was our sleeping bags got skunked as well so we couldn't even sleep at night. Jiraiya wouldn't let us go into any of the villages we passed by. He made us wait while he went in and had a great old-time. I had a great idea on how to get back at Jiraiya for doing that to us. I told the guys we should put itching powder in his pants before he left to do 'research', but Sasuke said that I was out of my mind. So I told that teme, "Of course I'm out of my mind; it's dark and scary in there!" He didn't think it was funny, but Sai kinda laughed. So then I told him that he was just jealous because the little voices talk to me._

_I've got to say, Sakura, he's really got that little eye twitch thing down pat! He does it almost as good as Sai's dad…_

_Oh yeah, before I forget, please tell my uncle Gen to stop telling you embarrassing stories about me when I was a kid or I'll put itching powder down his pants!_

_Ja ne,_

_Naruto_

She had to admit to herself how stupid she had been. When she first started receiving his letters, she poured through them eagerly for the faintest hint of Sasuke. Months passed before she realized what an incredible person Naruto truly was. Sasuke was right; he was brave, loyal, and funny. When they were kids, his bravado used to annoy her to no end. He always seemed so clueless. Now she realized he wasn't clueless at all. He was a lot more clever and intelligent than anybody knew. His mischievous nature hid it well.

Ever since that day when Sasuke shattered her view of the world she lived in, she began to change. She fingered the long tail of pink hair; braided to allow her freedom of movement. She thought that maybe she should cut it, but it had taken so long to regrow it and Naruto told her he hoped she wouldn't change. Maybe after he gets back, she thought with a smile.

At the sound of her name being called, she looked up to see her teammates coming her way. They were fourteen years old. Heirī was tall and slim with red-tipped brown hair. He was a second generation shinobi. Shēn was also tall, but muscular. He had black hair and eyes. He was from a minor clan and had a huge chip on his shoulder. They had both failed their sensei's test last year and had to go back to the academy while their third team member decided to stay a civilian. Sakura ended up a part of their team due to the uneven number of graduating students.

"Did you guys hear the news yet?" she asked brightly, "We've been signed up for the chunin exams."

Her team mates, both nodded excitedly. "Yeah, Genma Sensei just told us about it. Are you ready to go train?" asked Heirī with a slight blush. He had a one-sided crush on the pink-haired girl.

She carefully folded the letter and was about to put it back in her pouch when Shēn snatched it and mocked her in a sing-song voice "Is this a love letter from your loser of an idiot boyfriend?"

Sakura's heart skipped a beat and her face grew red with anger, "Don't call him that! You don't know him. And he's my friend, not my boyfriend." She tried to grab the letter back, but the older, taller boy held it out of her reach. She punched him, but he blocked and jumped back.

He waved it playfully in the air and teased, "Come and get it pinkie!"

Sakura's analytical mind studied the distance between them. She focused chakra around her foot and scuffed her sandaled toe on the ground. A small fissure opened in the earth, trapping his leg. She smirked in satisfaction as she sauntered over to Shēn, plucked the letter from his hand and safely stored it back in her pouch.

"Aw, I was just kidding, Haruno. Let me out," he whined.

"I swear, I don't know why I had to get stuck with you two as team mates!" she grumped as she pulled him out. She ruffled his hair as if he were a little boy and teased, "I sometimes wish I was put in a team from members of my graduating class instead of last years rejects!"

"It's not like we wanted some pink-haired menace to be on our team! You are a real bitch sometimes Sakura!" said Shēn smugly.

"If by "bitch" you mean intelligent, witty, and not afraid to speak my mind, then yes I am a bitch. Thank you," she said coolly. She really didn't like the other boy. He held animosity towards her ever since she beat him up during a training match up. Anko told her there would be plenty of men like him in the ninja world, but that didn't make him any easier to deal with.

Heirī, trying to ease the tension, said, "Hey, we need to hurry and meet up with Genma Sensei. Come on, he said he would show us a new jutsu. Aren't you guys curious to see what it's going to be?"

Sakura ran off, shouting Anko's favorite saying over her shoulder, "Curiosity will kill whoever gets in my way!"

The boys on her team were hot on her heels, but Sakura was faster. She nearly reached the training post when Shēn grabbed her ponytail. He let it go with a hiss of pain.

"What the hell was that!" he yelled looking at his bloody hand.

Sakura gave him a smug look and pointed to the small ball of spikes she had braided into her pink tresses. "I happen to like my hair long like this, but Anko Sensei pointed out that it could be used against me. I figured if anyone dared to take unfair of advantage of me like that…well, I would just have to let them," she said innocently.

She reached into a pouch on her thigh and pulled out a small sealed tube. She held it teasingly out to him. "I built up immunity, but I highly doubt you have…"

"What are you talking about?"

"How's you hand feeling?" she smirked. "Have you lost the feeling in it yet? Hmm, your lips look a little blue too."

Shēn's eye's widened. "You actually poisoned me?!"

"Yeah, about that…you might want to go to the hospital pretty soon."

Sakura laughed softy as the genin ran off. Heirī guffawed loudly. "Man, Sakura," he said hesitantly, "Of all of Anko's apprentices, you are definitely the scariest. You're definitely not a people person."

"It isn't that I'm not a people person; I'm just not a stupid people person. And you're not saying that to me to be nice are you?" she teased.

"Um…no?"

Genma suddenly appeared next to them. He nonchalantly leaned against the post and chewed on his senbon. "Where's the other brat?"

Heirī grinned, "Probably at the hospital by now."

The jonin sighed. "I was hoping to have the whole team here. Sakura, go see that he gets whatever antidote he needs this time and bring him back here."

"Sure sensei," she chirped then turned to leave. Genma cleared his throat loudly and held out his hand with an expectant look on his face.

Sakura huffed then began to take off her pouches filled with sharp and pointy things. She reluctantly handed him her chain whip, saying, "I wasn't going to use it."

"Mm hmm," he said doubtfully, "Heirī, maybe you should go with her and make sure she doesn't kill your teammate."

Heirī grinned. "I'm on it sensei!"

"Uh Sakura…?"

"Yes sensei?"

"I'll take the rest of them now."

"Oh hehe, I guess I forgot." She plucked several shuriken from her boots, the senbon weaved into her hair and a kunai from Kami knows where before running off with a disgruntled look.

Genma chuckled softly to himself as he watched them run off. He didn't even turn as his two best friends tried to sneak up on him. "They sure are shaping up quite nicely, aren't they?" he stated.

"Are you sure they're ready?" asked Asuma. "My team  
is pretty good."

"As ready as any genin can be."

"Why does that boy seem so familiar to me?" asked Kakashi.

"Ah you mean Shēn don't you? Yes, I thought you would remember."

"Refresh my memory."

Genma laughed, "Remember the midget's first year at the academy? I was watching him for you and you came back early. You met me at the school to get him and found him and Sasuke sitting in the detention room with two much older boys."

Kakashi laughed. "Let me guess, one of them was Shēn's older brother."

"Yup!"

"Well, what happened?" asked Asuma.

"So we walk into the room to see two eleven year old boys sitting there with bruises, black eyes and split lips. Naruto and Sasuke are sitting across from them in torn, dirtied clothes and glaring at them with murder in their eyes. Shēn's brother started muttering insults at the boys. My pup; who was barely half their size, stood up and threatened to blacken his other eye if he ever dared to put a finger on them again."

Genma burst out laughing as he recalled another detail. "Do you remember what Sasuke said?" Kakashi shook his head while Asuma waved his hand at him to continue. Genma chuckled again. "He shook his fist at them and said; don't make me go all Uchiha on your ass!"

All three men burst out laughing even harder than before as they pictured the two little five-year-olds and their cocky attitudes.

"It would seem that those boys thought they could pick on the pups. Not so." Kakashi sighed happily, "Mah, he made me so proud that day."

Asuma laugh good-naturedly and said, "I can't wait to see how much he's improved. I miss the little squirt."

Kakashi's expression turned wistful as he thought of the ball of sunshine and how quiet his home had become without him. "Me too."

* * *

**AN:**

Big huge thanks to my beta for this chapter. **COOKIEMONSTER77, **I would not have been able to get Gaara right without you!

Thanks to everyone that has favorited/followed/commented on my latest chapter.

Ja Ne,

**AZFAERYDUST**


	13. Full Circle

**DISCLAIMER: **No matter how much I want it, I do not own Naruto. I am still only borrowing the characters and only killing off a few…I promise to return them in good condition – well, maybe slightly battered!

* * *

AN:

At last we come back to the first chapter in a full circle. Not a lot of new things happen because this is more like a recap - don't be angry with me please, as I promise I will release the next chapter on Friday (And it's a bit twisted! Yay!). Thank you to everyone for putting up with the back story. Some things just needed to be said before we got to the present. Sai and Sasuke are thirteen and Naruto is twelve (and a half!). Everything will be the present from here on - that means no more Omakes.

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen:**

**_Full Circle_**

_I am clearly broken_

_And no one knows what to do_

_Pieces of the puzzle don't fit,_

_So, I pound them into you_

_~Korn~_

**~Kakashi & Ayame~**

It was still pretty early in the evening when Kakashi completed his mission and returned home. Ayame was in the living room sipping on a steaming mug of tea when he wearily walked in. His tension eased automatically when he saw her happy face. She practically flew across the room with two letters in hand.

"Open them. I want to know how he's doing." She exclaimed, waving the papers.

Kakashi smiled at her enthusiasm and dropped his bags. He sat down on the couch, pulled her down next to him and chided, "Why didn't you just read them earlier when they came?"

"Because they're not addressed to me this time; only you."

"What?" That was unusual. The copy-nin flipped the envelopes over to see that Ayame was right. The letters from Jiraiya and Naruto were addressed to him only. He opened the one from Naruto first, only for his confusion to increase.

It was a list; a list of thirty-two names. He absentmindedly handed it to Ayame, opened the one from Jiraiya, and scanned it.

Ayame felt his body stiffen and knew in an instant that something was wrong. "What is it?" she fearfully asked. "Is Naruto alright? Are Sai and Sasuke okay?"

"Nothing," he casually assured her. "There is nothing wrong. The boys are all safe and sound and coming home."

"You're lying to me."

He gave her a reassuring smile and said, "I would never lie to you."

Ayame repressed a snort. She pulled him close, kissed him gently, and whispered in his ear, "Liar." She pulled back and looked him in the eye. "You and I both know that you would lie if you had too; you're a shinobi, and a damned fine one at that."

He sighed and patted her in that maddening way – as if she were a fragile piece of glass. "I just didn't want you to worry."

Ayame pushed his hand away and stood up in front of him. "I may be a civilian, but I'm strong too." She pointed her finger and stabbed him in the chest with it. "It's too late if you don't want me to worry because now I am. If something happened to my little Naruto, I want to know."

Kakashi made her sit back down and told her the truth; a much edited version of it anyways. Although she knew he was still not telling her everything, she said nothing. What he told her was bad enough. She looked at the list in her hand. "I thought I recognized some of these names…they're from his past letters. They're people who lived in Waterfall."

He took the paper and looked at it closer. Next to each name in tiny, barely legible characters was the cause of death. Burned and stabbed were next to most names, however, one said Rasengan.

He folded the letter and put it in his pocket before Ayame could see it again. Kakashi barely repressed a sigh, trying not to further worry Ayame. _"My poor little puppy,"_ he thought, _"No one ever deserves to have their innocence ripped away like that."_

**~~O~~**

Very late that same night, a light flickered on. A shadow in the window could be seen slowly moving back and forth in a restless manner. The door opened and Ayame entered the room. Kakashi stilled his aimless movements. "I couldn't sleep. I got lost in my thoughts." He turned and looked at her; remorse clear and evident on his face. "What was I thinking?" he asked her.

"You were thinking that it was a wonderful, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him and that it was time for you to let go." She pointed to the letter crumpled in his hand and added, "He'll be alright in time. You must believe that."

Kakashi didn't answer. He just gave a small shrug and looked out the window.

Although she knew that gesture meant that he didn't want to talk about it, she pressed on anyways to get him to express himself. "He's twelve; a genin, and adult by shinobi standards."

"He's twelve; a child by a father's standards. He is feeling such horrible guilt and sadness," he snapped harshly. "I'm sorry," he said quickly. "It's just…just…"

"Waterfall…" they said at the same time.

She strode over to him and took his hand. "I know how much you love him Kakashi, but there is nothing we can do until he comes home. We will help him heal."

* * *

**~Mikoto & Itachi~**

The highlight of Mikoto Uchiha's life was not a date with the man she had been seeing for the past year as most would assume; although that did score pretty high. It was not seeing her students at the academy achieve success, which again ranked pretty high in her book. The highlight of Mikoto Uchiha's life was when a letter arrived from Sasuke.

This week was no different. She stopped by Ichiraku on her way home to get the latest one. It had been several weeks since he had written last and she missed her youngest son terribly.

The last correspondence from him had certainly kept her amused. Sasuke described Naruto's transvestite toad summons in such excruciating detail that she could almost see it. She could almost feel its long sticky tongue wrap around her and hear it flirt with her. Her boy was very thorough.

Mikoto serenely greeted Teuchi and inquired about her mail. Itachi had already picked it up. She hurried home.

Finding the letter on the table in the kitchen, she made a cup of tea to drink while she read it. Within a few minutes, she became baffled then angry.

**~~O~~**

Itachi sighed when he heard his mother calling him. Although he knew it was foolish to believe anything would get past his mother, he had held hope she would be content with the letter. He placed the letters in his pocket and slowly strolled into the kitchen where Mikoto sat fuming.

"Do you know what's going on?" she asked rhetorically. She held out the letter and scowled at Itachi. "This may be Sasuke's handwriting, but it doesn't have his voice. I know my son."

"What's wrong with it?" he asked blandly.

She gave him an incredulous look. "I know you too son. Something very bad must have happened for you to do something ridiculous like this. The Sasuke I knew is strong willed, decisive, and confidant. He can be conservative and inflexible at times, yes, but this paper has none of him in it. You maybe his brother and very close to him as well, but you aren't close enough to truly impersonate him."

"Hn."

"Now, where's the actual letter?"

Itachi sighed and reluctantly handed the crumpled letters over. He should have figured his little ruse wouldn't last. "I'm sorry mother," Itachi said sincerely. "I did not want you to worry."

Her eyes flashed and mouth tightened. She scowled at her son. "I was a jonin before I retired, Itachi Uchiha – never forget that…"

"Yes mother."

"They don't just give that rank to anyone, regardless if they have the Sharingan or not. I don't need you to protect me."

"No mother.

"I am not weak."

"Yes mother."

"I don't need you to protect me from being a mother, understand?"

"Absolutely."

**~~O~~**

That night, Mikoto sat reading the letter again. Sensing the silent approach of her eldest son, she wiped the tears away and tried to stuff the letter in her pocket. Itachi's hand covered hers gently and withdrew the letter.

"This will not break him," he said, opening the letter and nodding towards it.

"I can't help but feel that it's tearing him apart. I should be with him. No child should go through any of that, much less without his mother."

Itachi sat down next to Mikoto, took her hand and caressed it. "You **are** with him mother. You gave him the Will of Fire and it burns brightly from within."

She gave her son a shrewd glance. "I know this is hurting you just as much as it is him, my son, and yet you comfort me. Thank you." Softly, she added, "I know that Jiraiya didn't purposely place the children in such a dangerous situation, but I still feel such anger towards him."

Itachi was silent as he carefully chose his words. "Sasuke and the other two are shinobi now, not children. You know better than anyone what that kind of life entails. Jiraiya claimed that those rogue ninja were at least S rank and yet they survived. Sasuke survived against Orochimaru. That is quite a feat. He is no longer my foolish little brother. He is my comrade."

Although she knew Itachi was right, her heart still shouted, _"He's my child!"_

"Go back to sleep mother," said Itachi softly, "He will arrive soon. Sasuke would not wish to see you in this state."

Mikoto wiped her face and nodded.

* * *

**~Ibiki & Anko~**

Anko was away when an Anbu operative delivered Sai's letter to Ibiki. He was about to begin an interrogation at the time. He felt the weight of it in his hands and knew it was going to be another long and informative one. He debated whether or not to read it now or at his leisure later.

Sai's letters always left him in such a mellow mood; not that anybody could tell, as he always looked stern and forbidding. Still…this prisoner was going to take a lot of patience. _"I'll let him wait awhile," _he mused, _"I'll make him sweat a bit more."_ He strolled back into his office, removed his black leather trench coat, sat down at his desk, and opened the correspondence.

Ibiki wore an easy, carefree look that would have shocked anyone at Anbu headquarters, had they seen it. It swiftly changed…hard…murderous… brutal… remorseless…

That was the look everyone knew well. That was the terrifying visage that gave the man his reputation. He carefully folded the paper, placed it back in the envelope, and put it into his desk for safekeeping. He felt the anger rise within him and knew what he needed to do. He needed to unleash it before he exploded…and luckily he had just the thing.

He looked neither right nor left, but straight ahead while he marched down into the deepest, darkest depths of the Anbu building to the room where the prisoner was waiting. He waved away the guards and said, "So, I hear you have nothing to say."

The man spat at the scarred shinobi and said nothing.

Ibiki smiled. "Oh good," he said serenely as he began to remove his clothes. "I was hoping that would be the case." Catching the look in the man's eyes, he added, "I wouldn't worry about this. You will not be receiving that kind of pleasure today. My wife gets a bit irritated when I get blood all over my clothes. She refuses to clean them, you know." He sighed, "I can't tell you how many times I've had to buy new ones because of the stains, but what's a man to do?"

"For starters, you could release me."

"We both know that's not possible." Ibiki folded his clothes neatly and placed them on a chair in the corner of the room then walked over to a table covered in a large sheet. He threw it off and inspected the gleaming metal instruments. Finally, he picked up the thumbscrew and fingered the sharp, pointed end with a blank look.

"Lets see how long it takes until you scream for me, shall we?"

**~~O~~**

Much later, the door silently opened to a grisly scene. Ibiki stood in the corner of the room calmly cleaning his stained hands. Anko skirted the lump of flesh on the floor and walked up to her husband. She raised her brows at him and asked, "Why didn't you let me play? What's going on with you?"

"What do you mean," he asked, trying to avoid her eyes.

She pointed to the captive who still miraculously alive. "Don't give me that Morino. You have always been a bit more subtle than that. You've always preferred to destroy a man from the inside. So let me repeat myself, what's going on with you?" She ran her finger from his blood spattered neck down his torso and sucked on it.

"It's what I do, Anko. You know that."

"No, that's what I do."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Really?" she asked in a sultry voice. Her hands moved lower and she cupped the only soft part on his body and squeezed. "Liar," she whispered.

"I…ah…not so rough…I…what was I saying?" Ibiki's mouth went dry and his mind completely blank.

"You were telling me the truth."

Ibiki Morino had once suffered unimaginable pain and suffering by torture. He never told one secret. He endured. But, as Anko stroked him, he blurted out, "I just didn't want you to worry."

"Do I look delicate to you?!" Her hand tightened. Ibiki moaned.

"Yes…no…"

Sweat beaded along his upper lip as she stoked the fire within him. Two can play that game. He grabbed her arms and roughly spun her over to the table. His arm swept the instruments to the floor before he shoved her down on it and covered her body with his much larger one. "Why dare question me. I am in charge in this room, not you," he hissed.

She laughed hard as she pushed them off the table and landed on top of him. "And when are you going to learn that I am always in charge, Morino?"

The prisoner on the floor moaned out, "Please, for the love of Kami, I'm bleeding out here. You said I could get a medic."

"Shut up you," snarled Anko, "We're busy here." She threw the man a towel to staunch the bleeding, stared into Ibiki's eyes, and asked, "Aren't we?"

"Very busy…"

**~~O~~**

As Anko was putting her clothes back on she asked, "So what happened that you thought would make me upset Ibiki? You might as well tell me the truth because I won't let up otherwise."

"I'll tell you when we get home."

"Good boy," she purred. "Now go get all that blood cleaned off."

"Have you looked at yourself? You're now covered too."

She looked down and frowned. "I'm never going to get all that off. You owe me a new coat."

"It was worth it."

**~~O~~**

Later that night, a crumpled letter was fisted in Anko's hand. "I'm going to kill that bastard! How dare he expose my angel to this?"

"Anko, listen to yourself," began the man patiently, "The Sannin did nothing wrong. It wasn't his fault."

"Nothing wrong…?" she asked sarcastically.

"Nothing wrong…!" she shouted.

Anko growled, "He shouldn't have been anywhere near Waterfall. They should have come straight home after the islands."

Ibiki tried to placate her again, "Waterfall is a peaceful place. How could he have possibly known?" Anko's eye twitched dangerously which caused Ibiki to quickly back up. "Well, you know…it used to be," he said defensively.

"All I have to say is that my little angel had better be okay or Jiraiya is a dead man."

"Yes," agreed Ibiki with a sadistic smile. He vividly remembered the way Sai was when he first adopted him. There was no way he wanted to see the boy in that state ever again. He rubbed his hands together and said gravely, "And I'll help."

* * *

**~Jiraiya~**

Across the Land of Fire, the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya, the Great Toad Sage, awoke with a start. He wiped the pouring sweat from his brow and shakily got to his feet. He paced around the room in confusion, trying to recall what had scared him so badly. With no recollections of any nightmares, he shrugged and decided to check on the boys before going back to sleep.

**~~O~~**

Naruto began to jerk in his sleep. His dreams still pursued him with a relentless intensity that petrified him. He couldn't get the betrayed, accusing faces to stop haunting him. They went with him everywhere, day and night.

_"I heard you let Suien go." _

_"I think he learned not to mess with us…"_

_"We totally kicked his ass!"_

_"Come on Aho, bad decisions make for really good stories…"_

_"So, are you done yelling at us yet, Pervy Sage? We're sorry we didn't stay out of the way like good little boys and joined in the fight instead…"_

_"I see Suien's information was correct."_

Sai curled up in a tight ball. A small whimper escaped his lips as that same dream began to start anew. The same dream he had every night.

_"I heard you let Suien go." _

_"Should we not go after him? He might still be alive..." _

_"We made him our female with a malicious or spiteful attitude."_

_"Should we not stay and protect the villagers?"_

_"I can't help but think this is a bad decision…"_

_"I see Suien's information was correct."_

A single tear streamed down from the corner of Sasuke's eye as his nightmare slowly devoured him again. No matter how many times Jiraiya told them all that they were not at fault; he saw the devastation again and again. He wasn't strong enough to protect them.

_"I heard you let Suien go." _

_"Well, he probably died…"_

_"Jiraiya is a Sannin; there is no way we will leave him. I want to join in his fight!" _

_"I see Suien's information was correct."_

* * *

**AN:**

Again, my thanks to everyone that has favorited/followed/reviewed my latest chapter, lets just say that ya'll inspire me to keep going and I appreciate it. And a huge shout out to my beta **COOKIEMONSTER77**. You are absolutely brilliant, talented, gifted, accomplished, and smart! There are many more adjectives that describe your genius…too many to list!

As I said before, we are now in the present. It is six months past the academy graduation - so you probably know what that means - chunin exam time. We are at the point of the first chapter and the boys are on their way home. Two years have passed and although the boys are only genin, but I believe they are much better than a normal one. How much you ask – why, you'll just have to wait and see!

dzk87 - No offense taken! I totally agree with you on all points - I just hate how she is made to look so weak and useless...and the crying - don't even get me started! These girls are supposed to be ninja, not susie-homemakers. That always bothered me, that they weren't a bit tougher. I can't begin to tell you how thrilled I was in Shippuden when she kicked Sasor's butt! One word...AWESOME! That's my Sakura - brave, focused, and intense. The same goes for Hinata and Ino as well.

Ja Ne

**AZFAERYDUST**


	14. The True Nature of a Shinobi

**DISCLAIMER: **No matter how much I want it, I still do not own Naruto. Sadly, I also do not receive any fame or fortune from it. :(

* * *

Thank you to my beta, **Cookiemonster77**! You're as awesome as always.

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen:**

**_The True Nature of a Shinobi_**

_Times are looking grim these days_

_Holding on to everything_

_It's hard to draw the line_

_I'm hiding in this empty space_

_Tortured by my memories of what I've left behind_

_~Korn~_

As they left the spa the following morning, Jiraiya noted again that they spoke not one word to each other and seemed to be avoiding eye contact. It was as though a deep chasm was growing between the three and growing deeper and wider every day.

Every night they clung to each other and every day they stayed as far apart as possible. The Sannin didn't know what to do. Their bond between each other appeared to be dissolving before his very eyes.

Although they were aware of their surroundings and alert; Sai rarely spoke at all, Sasuke was sullen, and Naruto was hyper-alert and suspicious of everything around him. Jiraiya grew more depressed with each mile they journeyed. He mentally gave a small sigh of relief when they found a nice place to set up camp.

Wanting the boys to find a way to mend their rift, he instructed, "You boys stay together and set up the perimeter while I get everything ready here."

Birds were singing their songs of autumn joy, many flowers were still blooming, the sky was a clear beautiful blue, the grass was green, and the sun was shining. If they could have forgotten the tragic deaths at Waterfall and their role in it, it would have been a wonderful day.

Still not speaking to one another, they set out in manji formation. After a few minutes, Naruto flung out his arm and wordlessly ordered them to halt. He sniffed the air and pointed to the east. The other two nodded and spread out. They came across another camp with about fifteen men milling about.

The armed men all carried a sense of desperation about them that even the boys could feel. Naruto entered their camp boldly and presented himself. Although he, Sai and Sasuke were all genin and wore their hitai-ates proudly, they were still young boys. Innocent, harmless looking boys…

The bandits mistakenly thought he was a civilian like them.

Two years of travel and training had his clothes thin and badly worn. In truth, he looked like a homeless waif. One of the men asked, "Do you want to join our camp?"

"What kind of camp is it?" he asked.

"We are simple men just trying to get by in the world."

"Yeah, so what do you do?"

"We rob caravans that pass through here."

Naruto stared at the pathetic rag-tag group and spat out, "You are bandits."

"No, as I said before, we are simple men just trying to get by in the world."

"A thief is a thief, no matter how you try to justify it," said the boy. He made a sign behind his back calling the other two forward. He turned and looked at them.

What Sasuke saw, even in Naruto's normally humorous, open face, was nothing – nothing at all. His eyes were flat with their doom. In Naruto's eyes, it had already happened. These men were outlaws. That was all. In Naruto's eyes Sasuke saw that they would die for their thievery as a boar dies in a trapper's pit. That and nothing else… Nothing at all…

They were a ninja's eyes…and Sasuke and Sai's were as equally blank.

Sasuke approached behind Naruto and said without any emotion at all, "This filth needs to be eliminated before they can harm someone."

"Sai?" asked Naruto.

With an almost imperceptible nod of his head, the boys flew into action is if facing a group of 'S' class ninja. Sai quickly cast a jutsu that formed a ring around the group of men. Quickly before they could escape, the ring dropped down into a pit, ten feet deep.

The men's pleas for mercy went unheeded as Naruto's hands flew through seals. A shadow clone appeared next to him. Together they cast an air and water jutsu. The torrent of water spewed from his mouth aided by the gale force winds. It filled the pit in seconds, causing the men to struggle to stay afloat. Sasuke moved forward and focused his chakra; about to do something terrible… something horrific. With a white hot glow, lightning chirped, crackled and sparked from his fingertips.

A hand grabbed his and thrust it away before he could murder the simple bandits. "What were you going to do?" Jiraiya asked, aghast at their actions.

Sasuke replied emotionlessly, "They might have become a threat."

"They could have hurt someone," said Naruto tonelessly.

"Mercy is a weakness," added Sai.

These were not the boys he had traveled with, trained, and loved. These were the boys he had left Waterfall with; angry, hurt, and destroyed little boys. His frustration with them finally hit its peak. He pointed at the men and said, "They look like starving, desperate men. There is nothing dangerous or threatening about them. There has been a drought in these lands recently. They were probably down and out farmers."

Naruto's face turned white, Sai cast his eyes downward and Sasuke, trying to justify his guilt, angrily yelled, "What else should we have done?"

"First of all, we are shinobi of Konoha. Our duty is to complete missions tasked by the Hokage. If they were simple thieves, we would not kill them. We would turn them into the proper authorities. This was not our mission."

"Neither was Waterfall!" replied the Uchiha hotly.

"That was different," replied Jiraiya calmly.

"How so?" asked Sai.

"There was a clear threat and they were not simple civilian bandits. And also, Takigakure is our ally." The Sannin's expression turned fierce. He harshly asked, "What is your duty Sasuke?"

He gave the Sannin a sullen glare, refusing to answer.

Jiraiya put his hands on the boy's shoulders and gave him a hard shake. He asked again, louder and firmer; "What is your duty Sasuke?"

"Our duty is to protect the Land of Fire and its inhabitants," he said in a near whisper, unable to meet the Sage's eyes. _"A duty we were unable to accomplish…" _was what unspoken, but there all the same.

"And?" thundered Jiraiya.

Naruto couldn't take it anymore; he had to come to his friend's defense. Blind fury made his voice shake and crack as he shouted, "Leave him alone! He hasn't done anything wrong. It's my fault. I attacked first."

"It's not your fault," said Sasuke, moving closer and putting his hand on his shoulder, "I accept the consequences for my actions. I am to blame."

"As am I," agreed Sai.

"No," said Jiraiya, "Naruto is right; it is all his fault."

"Don't say that," yelled Sasuke. He yanked a kunai from his pouch and wildly slashed out in anger and bereavement. "It's not true. It's not his fault. It's my fault!"

"Like Waterfall…?" asked Jiraiya sagely while swatting away the weapon as if it were just a harmless toy.

"That was my fault!" wailed Naruto.

"That was my fault," said Sasuke guiltily.

"That was my fault," stated Sai.

The three stared at each other in surprise then began to argue.

"No, Sai wanted us to stay and protect the villagers and I said we should go join Jiraiya Sensei's fight. I let Suien go."

"No, I didn't make us stay because I wanted to join the fight too. I was the one who let Suien go."

"You both are wrong. I was the one who made stupid jokes to get Sai to join the fight, and I was the one that let Suien go."

"It was all my fault," they said in unison.

"Are you three done with all this now? None of you has been talking to each other because you all feel guilty. I want you all to listen to me and I mean really listen – it's nobody's fault. The only thing we can do is learn from it." He pointed to the men shaking fearfully in the pit, "This is not learning."

Naruto shouted furiously, "We have learned. If we had only done that in the first place, then all those deaths at Waterfall would never have happened. If we hadn't given mercy… That's the true nature of a shinobi - to be merciless and to kill." Tears began to stream from his face. "Fū…our friend Fū would still be alive. The rest of the villagers would still be alive."

"All of you sit down. I'm going to tell you something very important." He was silent for a minute before he too sat down in front of them and began to speak. "When people get hurt, they learn to hate… when people hurt others, they become hated and racked with guilt. But knowing that pain allows people to be kind. Pain allows people to grow… and how you grow is up to you."

They had forgotten that Jiraiya was the Great Toad Sage and a master spy. Throughout their travels, he was a father, a brother, a teacher, a friend, a fool, a perverted skirt chaser, but now they remembered that he was also one of the greatest shinobi in Konoha's history. He had killed before too, but he was not a killer. He was one of the legendary Sannin; a man who desired peace between nations. He was Jiraiya.

He continued, "Do some people deserve to die? Without a doubt; there is too much darkness in some people, corruption that can never be cleansed in three lifetimes of rehabilitation. Evil is very real boys, it walks the land with a swagger. On the other hand, do some people deserve clemency? Yes. You've got to know when the time to show no mercy is and when to stay your hand. **That**...is the true nature of a shinobi."

The boys gripped hands impulsively and as quickly as that breach that had opened between them, now closed.

"Well, how are we supposed to know when to do what?" asked Naruto.

"Use your heart and then your head; be able to determine a real threat from a false one. And know that you may make the wrong decision once in a while. You are ninja now and it's your job to look underneath."

* * *

**~~O~~**

Naruto, Sai and Sasuke stayed up late that night, talking for the first time. The cathartic release felt so freeing. They knew that they would never be the same, but it only made them stronger. "We truly are brothers now," said the Uchiha. "We share the same bonds."

Naruto nodded his head in seriousness. "I call for an oath."

A call for an oath was sacred to them. It was a tradition started when they had all became friends at five years old.

Sasuke spit on the back of his hand and held it out. Sai slapped his palm on, spat on the top of it, and Naruto completed the contact. "And so we swear," they said together.

"It's going to be midnight pretty soon. I have an idea," said Naruto as he pulled out a kunai and held it over the fire.

"What are you doing?" asked Sai.

"I'm sterilizing it. Like, um, you know… purifying it." It got so hot; he had to pull it out of the fire and blow on his fingers. "We should become brothers in blood."

Sai looked at the kunai and then at Naruto's face. "Blood brothers: a male who has sworn to treat another as his brother, often in a ceremony in which their blood is mingled. I agree."

Naruto tried to find the words to express how solemn and important the ceremony should be. "We'll swear an oath and have some words to say. We should say something like three into one, in loyalty."

Sasuke gazed at the other two; his best friends…his brothers. He nodded in agreement. "That sounds good. Write it down Sai."

Sai dug in his pack and pulled out a blank scroll and his precious ink. He held it up for their inspection and said, "This should make it more official." He carefully wrote down all the ideas they agreed upon while Sasuke added more wood to the fire until it blazed brightly. Seconds before midnight, they stood, three boys who stood at the brink of adulthood with faces lit by fire and starlight.

Naruto took the kunai and sliced his palms. "Brothers in blood…" he said.

"Brothers in blood…" agreed Sasuke, taking the kunai and slicing his own palms.

Sai cut his palms and handed the kunai back. "Brothers in blood…"

They each grasped each others hands and pressed their palms together. Naruto said, "I promise to never again abandon my brothers….," he looked at Sai.

Sai promised, "To be brothers until we die…," he looked at Sasuke.

"To be brothers in the afterlife as well…" vowed Sasuke.

Together, the said, "We are three into one and one into three, brothers in spirit and in mind, brothers for all eternity.

* * *

As they stood, clouds shivered over the full moon, misted over the bright stars. Their mixed blood dripped and fell onto the burnt ground. They each squeezed tight for a second before releasing their hands. Naruto saw that his hand had stopped bleeding already, but not the other two. Sasuke held his bleeding palm to Sai and asked, "Do you mind?"

As Sai's palms glowed green with healing chakra, Naruto spoke up, "Hey, you know this means we now have two dads, three moms, and one big brother."

Sai inspected Sasuke's healed hand before adding without looking up, "And soon, one new little brother or sister."

Naruto sighed, "Yeah, I sure miss Konoha, but a little sister would be kinda cool. What do you want it to be Sai?"

He thought for a moment then responded, "A little brother would be acceptable. Girls are strange. I do not understand them at all."

"Nobody understands girls, Aho. That's what would be cool about a sister…she could explain herself to us."

"Tch," scoffed Sasuke arrogantly, "By the time she is old enough explain the mystery of girls we will have figured it out by ourselves."

"I don't know about that," said Sai doubtfully, "My father said that women are a mystery to him most of the time. He said they speak a different language, but I never heard my mother speak it. Possibly they only speak it to other women."

"Yeah," agreed Naruto, "My dad says when a woman asks you "what"; she's not asking you to repeat what you said, she asking you it to change it. That doesn't make sense to me at all. So what about you, Sasuke? What do you want it to be?" asked Naruto.

"I don't care. Babies are annoying." He had a sudden remembrance of the book that had been sent in their care package and gave a little shudder.

Sai saw it and asked, "What is the matter?"

"You don't think that really true about that mucus plug thing do you?" he answered with a hot blush.

The other two easily recalled the book, "What to Expect When You're Expecting" and cringed. The burning of said book was one thing they all heartily agreed upon without any hesitation…whatsoever…

"…Or the fact that they fart worse than my dad does after he goes out drinking with his friends!" interrupted Naruto with a hoot, "Cause I gotta tell you, I can't imagine anything being worse than that. I mean I have to air out the house for like, three days!"

"Worse than the uncontrollable drooling at night, burping during the day, and losing control of their bladders the rest of the time?" asked Sai. "I must say, I found that a bit disturbing. Why would any woman willingly agree to any of that?"

"Beats me. Women are weird," agreed Naruto.

"No offense," said Sasuke, "but there are some things you can never unsee and those pictures in that book still give me nightmares. Sometimes I truly dislike them for sending us that book."

The other two nodded and silently stared into the fire, all of them thinking of home and how much they missed it…regardless of the image of a puking, drooling, farting, burping, urine soaked mother-to-be they would soon see.

Soon…

Jiraiya lay in his tent with a happy smile and heaved a great sigh of relief. He had to smother a laugh. While they may be considered adults, they were definitely still children. Still, it was good to see them talking.

* * *

It was a start.

* * *

AN:

Well, I have to say, I hate huge Author's notes, but there are some things I wanted to explain. First of all, I just had to put Jiraiya's quote in here... It's one of my favorites from the whole series.

"When people get hurt, they learn to hate… when people hurt others, they become hated and racked with guilt. But knowing that pain allows people to be kind. Pain allows people to grow… and how you grow is up to you."

I know there are many of you who are getting frustrated because they have not arrived in Konoha yet, but when I thought up this sequel - this chapter was the scene I pictured. The previous chapters were playing up to this incident. In Naruto, the bad guys are usually defeated, but not always killed. It made me think...why wouldn't the bad guy just come back later - and with friends?

Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke are shinobi... warriors... killers... Like Kakashi said in Broken - he was two men; the shinobi and the man. How would Naruto learn that lesson? So...How did I do on this arc? Next chapter, team 7 will arrive back home (Konoha Arc).

Again I want to thank everyone who has favorited/followed/commented on my story.


	15. Return to Konoha

**DISCLAIMER: **No matter how much I want it, I do not own Naruto. I am still only borrowing the characters and only killing off a few…I promise to return them in good condition – well, maybe slightly battered or slightly dead!

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As always - big thanks to my beta **COOKIEMONSTER77** who rocks!

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**Chapter Fifteen:**

**_Return to Konoha_**

_So close no matter how far  
Couldn't be much more from the heart  
Forever trust in who we are  
And nothing else matters_

_~Metallica~_

The campsite that Jiraiya led them to sat at the edge of a crystalline lake. Something about it teased the edge of Naruto's consciousness. He kept thinking maybe he had been here before, but the lake he and his father had went to was different; still it bothered him. He pushed the feeling aside as camp was set up and dinner eaten. Naruto was unnaturally quiet the whole time.

"What's the matter with you anyways gaki? You haven't spoken more than three words tonight," asked Jiraiya.

"Nothing."

"Are you sure? Your furry little friend isn't bothering you, is it?"

"No, I'm fine. I'm just feeling a little excited I guess. It's been a long time since I've been home."

"Eh, you're just thinking of Sakura again aren't you?" asked Sasuke snidely. "When you get back, she's so going to own you."

"No, she isn't," said Naruto, coloring a bit. "We're just friends."

Sai cracked and imaginary whip and added, "Wh-pssh!"

"What exactly does that mean anyways?" asked Sasuke.

"I don't know. Whenever I went with my father to work, the other men there would do that to him when my mother told him to do something. I assumed it is something you are supposed to do when a female takes charge."

Jiraiya had to choke back a laugh. Naruto and Sasuke looked as though they believed him, so he quickly stepped in. "Sai, did you ever see those men do that in front of Anko?"

"Not that I can recall."

"That's because a kunoichi will kill you if you do. You don't ever want to do that where they can see."

"Well what does it mean then?"

"I'll tell you when you're older. Or better yet, ask you mother when your father is around." They all groaned at the standard response, so tired of hearing the whole _'I'll tell you when you're older'_ bit. "It's time to meditate now. Naruto, come with me."

"Are we going to try again?"

"Yes. Just remember what I said. The Kyuubi is sealed. He cannot hurt you."

Sai and Sasuke gave Naruto commiserating looks as he passed in front of them and sat in front of Jiraiya. Communicating with the demon was difficult for the boy and usually left him upset and angry afterwards.

* * *

**~~O~~**

When Naruto opened his eyes, he found himself in his mindscape ankle deep in water in front of the massive sealed cage. Evil, luminous red eyes glowed from within. Kyuubi's deep malicious voice rumbled, **"So you've come again, huh human. What do you want now?"**

Naruto refused to let the beast intimidate him this time. He boldly walked up to the gates and stared down the demon. He was determined to get the advantage this time. The only sound he heard was dripping water and the creature's harsh breathing. He noticed saliva dripping from gleaming sharp white teeth and suddenly realized where the water came from…

_"That means I'm standing in…Gross!"_ he thought as he lifted his feet and shook them out one at a time.

**"You recognize our surroundings because you are very close to the village. We will be arriving back to Konoha soon. You know those people will never accept you. They hate you. Release me and we have our revenge upon them. We can show them how strong and powerful you are. We can destroy them all. You know you want them to respect you, fear you…"**

_"Stupid, slobbering, mangy fox…" _

Naruto girded himself for the mental battle. He clenched his fists and tried to respond as calmly as his volatile temper would allow, "You don't know what I want. I've told you before that I will not harm my village or the people in it. Killing everyone solves nothing. Fū was able to get along with Chōmei and work with him. Don't you see? We should find a way to do the same. If you truly are the most powerful of all the tailed beasts; like you claim, then shouldn't I be the most powerful Jinchuriki?"

**"Oh you think you're so clever human. You are nothing. I will destroy you! I will rip your soul to shreds! When I am released I will destroy everyone and everything precious to you! I will…"**

Naruto interrupted, "Fine, if you don't want to be serious then I am leaving. Remember this though; you are living inside of me. If I die, then you die. Someday you are gonna have to realize that I didn't put you here and we should find a way to live together in peace."

**"PEACE…THERE IS NO PEACE! ONLY ANARCHY, DESTRUCTION, CHAOS, MADNESS AND DEATH…!"**

"Whatever," he said wearily. "Don't think we're through yet Kyuubi."

* * *

**~~O~~**

Naruto opened his eyes and grimaced. His head was pounding from the pure hatred the Kyuubi exuded. He wearily exhaled and tried to calm his roiling belly. It was no use…he leaned over and vomited until nothing was left but stomach acid.

He felt a cool hand on the back of his neck. "Maybe you should just stop trying," said Jiraiya kindly, "It's just too hard on you."

"No way Pervy Sage, I never quit. It's my ninja way."

It was very easy to figure out which buttons to push with that boy. Jiraiya smiled proudly as he saw the sheer will and determination glint in Naruto's eyes. "I know gaki, I know."

* * *

**~~Konohagakure~~**

As soon as the team walked through the village gates, they each took a big breath. They had smelled the humid, salty air by oceans, dry, dusty air of the desert, and the moist, pungent air of the swamps, but nothing beat the fresh, clean pine scent of home.

They waved as Jiraiya left to report to the Hokage. They looked at each other somberly for a moment before Naruto grinned. "I'm home Konoha!" he yelled excitedly. "Naruto Uzumaki Hatake has returned!" People stopped dead in their tracks once they recognized who had shouted. Many shot him dark looks and muttered under their breath before hurrying away.

A trace of disappointment crossed his face. "Oh, yeah…I forgot," he muttered.

"I didn't," said Sai quietly. He stood and rooted through his knapsack until he located the slingshot he had found during their travels. "What do you think Sasuke?"

Sasuke smirked, "The BPB."

"Size?"

"Flock."

"Strength?"

"The pelican special."

Naruto hadn't caught their exchange, but was able to sense their hostility. He held up his hands and protested, "Guys, really, you don't have to worry about it. I'm used to it. It's no big deal."

"Anyone who insults my brother also insults me," said Sasuke calmly.

"We don't have time for this. We have to get to the arena before the tournament starts. The gate guards said that our parents will most likely be there. I want to see my family."

Sai added, "It will only take a moment and besides, while a brother is usually a man or boy who shares the same father and or mother it can also be described as a deep bond shared between men. Therefore, as our brother, we must defend that bond."

"Eh?"

Sasuke tsked, "Just go on, we'll catch up with you."

Sai dug through his knapsack again and pulled out a small round object with strange markings all over it. "Time?" he asked.

Sasuke squinted at the crowd of people staring and pointing rudely at their friend. "Four seconds," he murmured while tapping the ball. He took the slingshot from Sai and said, "Make some cover."

Sai nodded, took his scroll, and quickly began to draw. "Super Beast Scroll," he murmured. Birds jumped off the paper and flew into the air above the crowd while Sasuke put the ball in the slingshot. He aimed high in the air, stretched the band back and let it fly. Four seconds later, the crowd began yelling and cursing as wet bird droppings rained down upon them."

"BPB successful," said Sasuke, bumping fists with Sai. They caught up with Naruto a minute later with smug looks on their faces.

"I saw what happened…Bird Poo Bomb?"

"Yeah."

Naruto said with a smile, "I've got to admit; that one really is my favorite."

"It should be baka; you created it."

* * *

**~~Home at Last~~**

The arena was packed with most of the Konoha population and many visitors to witness the third test of the chunin exams. The trio looked around in disappointment – how on earth would they find their families in a crowd this size?

Across the stadium, six people were attempting to locate their seats. Itachi wrinkled his nose as he handed Mikoto Tamagogani (dried hermit crabs!) and commented, "I cannot begin to comprehend how you can stomach that mother."

"I had a craving for it," she said, "And besides, it's very good." she was about to give Ayame her serving, but had to laugh when she noticed Kakashi fussing over her like a mother hen. "Really Hatake, I know how you dislike large crowds, but you did promise your wife you would bring her here."

"Yeah Kashi, stop trying to use her as an excuse to leave," added Anko.

"I don't know what you're talking about. She said she wasn't feeling well today and I didn't want to her to overexert herself."

Ayame joined in the women's laughter. "I said my feet were sore, Kakashi. I worked late last night so show us where our seats are so I can sit down."

He led the way to the benches where Ūhei and Bull were waiting while whispering promises of feet being rubbed and other parts, which of course Anko and Mikoto overheard. Their amusement turned quickly in embarrassment as he got more and more outrageous.

"Get a room perv…!" shouted Anko.

"I'm trying," pouted Kakashi, "But she won't let me leave."

"Well until you do, please refrain from any mention of where you want to stick your tongue. Some of us want to watch this without feeling the need to be sick," commented Ibiki dryly.

The finals began with Hinata against another Konoha genin. It was over before it could really even start. As the young man was carried out on a stretcher, Ūhei's ears perked up. He stood on his hind legs to get a good long sniff as the wind shifted. He caught the tantalizing aroma of musty socks, smoke bombs, and fox – a combination he knew as well as Kakashi's own unique scent. He growled at Bull, who dissipated in a small cloud. The six adults leaned forward expectantly.

"Naruto!" howled Ūhei, gathering surprised stares from the citizens surrounding them. "He's here! My puppy has returned!"

The ninken jumped off the bench and plowed through the row of people sending them flying in different directions. A nearby vender; not seeing the animal, lost his footing and was sent tumbling through the stands. He landed on another person, who bumped into a lady, who screamed in surprise before falling over another civilian, who was sent flying through the air.

Kakashi caught a woman in his arms and sat her on her feet. "Sorry about that," he gave her an eye smile and apologetically added, "He's just a little excitable."

A huge poof of smoke clouded everyone's vision. As it dispersed, seven ninken appeared. They all howled in unison and took off after Ūhei, much to the spectator's dismay. More people were sent flying from the pack's charge through their midst.

The disgruntled shinobi and civilians that were knocked out of their seats as the hounds came through barely heard their apologies. More screams were heard as the ninken continued on; weaving their way in and out between people's legs and under the women's dresses.

"Excuse, pardon me, the pup's here! Excuse, pardon me, coming through… nice shoes! Excuse, pardon me, sorry about that!" chanted Guruko and Bisuke, "Excuse, pardon me, coming through…"

Ūhei didn't even bother to apologize. He howled and snapped at everyone that got in his way. "Move it or lose it sister," he growled out viciously to men and women alike.

"Naruto's home, Naruto's home, Naruto's home, Naruto's home," sang Urushi and Shiba in unison.

"My puppy, my puppy, my puppy, my puppy, my puppy," snarled Bull. Everyone scrambled to move out of the dog's way. Those who wouldn't or were just too slow found themselves trampled by the massive hound.

Pakkun just jumped from atop people's heads with a doggy grin. He looked back at Kakashi and grumbled, "Well, aren't you coming?"

Ayame gave him a laugh and a push. "Go ahead; I'll calm everyone down here."

He took off after the pack, grabbing Pakkun as he was complementing a lady on her shampoo. "Where is he?" he asked.

"To the east," pointed the pug.

"Oh crap," muttered Kakashi as the pack jumped into the arena and straight through Kiba and Ino's battle. He went the long way around.

* * *

**~~O~~**

Naruto was still trying to figure out where his family could be when Hinata's very short fight began. He barely had time to point it out to Sasuke when it was over. He tried to search through the sea of faces for a familiar one, but it was still no use. There were just too many people.

Suddenly, everyone began laughing and pointing down. The trio jerked in surprise as a pack of howling ninken plowed straight over Ino and scaled the wall of the stadium. Seconds later, they ran full tilt at Naruto.

The blonde genin threw his hands up in a vain attempt to slow them. "No wait! Stop!" he screamed.

Too late; they knocked the boy down. Rough, wet tongues were licking him from head to toe. Ninja surrounded them, thinking he was under attack. One shinobi tried to pull Akino off, but changed his mind fairly quickly as a deep-throated snarl and snap of sharp teeth narrowly missed his hands and the growled comment of, "Do you like having opposable thumbs?" made him drop the dog.

Once Naruto was able to calm them enough to get them off and sit up, his hair was sticking out in crazy directions from all the slobber. Kakashi was suddenly and unexpectedly kneeling beside him and then pulling him into his arms.

"Dad! I'm home!"

"And it's about damn time too…" he replied gruffly.

Sai and Sasuke were getting the same treatment from their families when Ayame finally arrived. She just didn't have the same speed as the shinobi. She was huffing and wheezing, but her face was aglow with happiness.

"What are you doing?!" asked Kakashi sternly. "You know you shouldn't be running around in your condition. I would have brought him to you."

"Oh stop your fussing," she admonished, "I wasn't about to wait another minute to see my son." She held out her arms to the blond boy. "Come here and let me look at you."

"Holy crap! You're really fat!" Naruto blurted out. He instinctively ducked Sasuke's hand as it almost smacked his head. "Uh…sorry, I mean, well you know… You look like you're… about to explode."

Ayame laughed good-naturedly and enveloped him in a warm hug. "I've missed you honey bear." She swatted Kakashi's hand away as he tried to make her sit down. "Please stop fussing, Kakashi. I'll sit down when I'm good and ready."

Naruto frowned in concern – she really was huge. "I missed you too. You don't have to pee or anything do you?" He looked down to check and see if it was true about pregnant women wetting themselves and then ducked yet another swat from Sasuke. "Maybe you _should_ sit down?"

"Not you too," she groaned and then whispered, "You're father has been driving me crazy with his over-protectiveness. He fusses so much and treats me like I'm right about to break at any minute." She added very loudly, "And he seems to forget that women have been having babies for thousands of years."

"Well technically, and judging by your size, I would say that your water could break at any moment," commented Sai. "Our current location would not to the ideal place for such an occurrence to take place."

Ayame laughed. "I still have a few weeks before I need to worry about that."

He didn't avoid the swat that Sasuke sent to his head. He sent a blank look at the Uchiha and then asked Anko, "Why did you not inform me that I am to become a brother as well?"

She patted the slightly smaller bump on her belly and said, "Surprise!" She gave Ibiki a little glare and a slap upside the head then muttered under her breath, "And don't think I'm not getting you back for this…"

Ibiki's expression didn't change, but smugness seemed to radiate from him.

Anko growled, "Now let's get back to our seats before Kakashi has a hissy fit and drags poor Ayame home. We can catch up there."

Sasuke sent a smirk at Naruto and then announced loudly, "I thought we all agreed that we were not going to allow the women to drink out of any man's cup, in case he spit in it."

Naruto blushed and yelled, "Aw come on, I was like seven or eight years old. And besides... you thought that it was true too Teme!"

Kakashi ruffled Naruto's hair and chuckled. "It's good to see some things never changed. It's almost as if they never left," he commented dryly.

"So who's up next?" asked Naruto with the biggest, happiest smile he had ever worn on his face. Not that it really mattered…he was home…

* * *

**~~The Konoha Chunin Exams~~**

Sakura walked out into the arena looking so tiny and vulnerable. She looked so nervous and unsure. Naruto heard the men beside him discussing her, "…just a rookie genin, no known bloodline…forgettable…surprised she made it this far…"

Naruto seethed, but said not a word. She would show them. He glanced over at Sai and Sasuke, who were sitting a few spaces away and grinned. It was the beginning of the most awesome day ever. The sun was softly shining and a cool breeze tickled his neck. The high energy of all the people all around him made him completely forget his own disappointment of not being down there himself. But the most wonderful thing of all was that he was surrounded by the people who loved him most. What could be better?

**~~O~~**

Sakura looked up at the giant Iwa ninja that was her opponent. "That's a genin?" she asked herself in amazement.

He flexed his huge meaty hands, his knuckles strained against the snug-fitting leather. He was grinning at her. He had a tense, predatory look plastered to his face. His was the smile of a wolf just before it closed hungry jaws on the cornered rabbit. Then he laughed.

It was hearty and yet oddly pleasant, but his hard eyes glinted with morbid amusement. He wanted her to fight back, for he enjoyed the chase. His little scare tactics wouldn't work on her though, she vowed to herself.

Sakura grinned back at him. She blew him a kiss as the proctor, Hayate told them to begin. Her hand slipped into her pouch and pulled out the chained weapon.

She twirled it around her body. The whistling knife sliced through the air, making him back off. She changed its trajectory, slicing him in the forehead just below his hitai-ate. Blood poured in his eyes, obscuring his vision. He swiped it away and lowered his headband to stop the flow.

Sakura smirked.

"This isn't over yet, little girl," he growled. From his pouch, he withdrew a kunai and began to retaliate. His anger made him even deadlier. Sakura swung the blade again.

In a surprisingly agile move, Akuma jumped over it, twisted mid-air and ducked low beneath Sakura's swinging chain, slashing out with his own weapon. She stumbled back on the uneven ground, blocking his attack, but Akuma caught her wrist in an iron grip. He brought his kunai around; Sakura got a loop of chain around the blade and locked it tight. Both genin spun in their sudden embrace, faces inches from each other.

She jumped up, planted her feet in his chest and twisted her hands, breaking his hold and then flipped in the air, losing her bladed chain in the process. She quickly removed the ornamental needles in her hair and threw them downward in a fast-moving barrage. His injured arm, punctured by several of the senbon, did nothing to slow him down. Akuma merely gave the girl a dark look and tried to move in closer.

Sakura calmly studied the way he used his kunai and by the time she backed up against the wall, she knew how to handle him. Akuma made long sweeping passes with the kunai instead of the short vicious arcs employed by skilled ninjas; therefore, on the outward half of each swing, after the blade passed Sakura but before it started coming back again, there was a second or two when the weapon was moving away from him, posing no threat whatsoever, a moment when Akuma was vulnerable.

As the huge man edged in for the kill, confidant that his prey had nowhere to run, Sakura timed one of the arcs and sprang forward at precisely the right instant. As the blade swung away from her, Sakura seized Akuma's wrist, squeezing and twisting it with as much force as she could muster, and bending it back against the joint. With an audible crack, she broke his wrist. The huge man grimaced, but made no sound. The kunai flew out of his thick fingers. He wouldn't be able to do any jutsu now.

A high-placed kick knocked him back. It was a glancing blow, less devastating than she had hoped, but he staggered back a step or two. He didn't go down. He wasn't seriously injured. But he was hurt and the pain transformed him. He was no longer in a perversely playful mood.

The crooked smile disappeared. His mouth was set in a straight, grim line, lips tightly compressed. His face was red. Wound up in fury, his neck muscles popped up, taunt, and impressive. He crouched slightly, ready to spring. She thought he would try to stalk her; instead, he rushed straight at her without any finesse. Anko's teachings came back to her about the benefit of being a kunoichi. They were lithe, flexible, and quicker than men were.

She easily ducked under his outstretched arms and spun around while snapping a sharp kick at the center of his back. This time he flew through the air; ten feet then twenty before hitting the wall with a hard crunch.

**~~O~~**

"YEAH!" Naruto stood up and shouted as loudly as he could; "I knew you could do it, Sakura!" He turned and gave the men next to him a smug look. "That's my friend, Sakura Haruno…don't forget the name. She is not forgettable."

Ayame laughed at the boy and hugged him to her. "I've missed you so much," she whispered. "It's good to have you home. The house has been much too quiet."

"Not for much longer," he said, eyeing her round belly. "Have you decided yet what her name is going to be?"

"We don't know if it's going to be a girl or not, but we were hoping you might have some ideas."

Surprise and pleasure showed in Naruto's eyes. Without thinking, he said, "Fū." His heart immediately hurt as though a blade pierced through him. "Maybe not," he muttered. "I'll have to think about it." He looked back down at the arena floor and tried the regain the happy feeling from earlier.

**~~O~~**

Finally having the space she needed, Sakura pulled out a storage scroll and released it. Flowers flew up and rained down upon the ground around them. Akuma picked one up and was about to laugh when Sakura made the ram seal and completed the jutsu, "Many Blooming Flowers!" She quickly jumped back as the petals hardened and turned explosive. They ignited and shot towards the genin like missiles. Akuma, who was still too disorientated to evade, tried to block the flaming flowers. The subsequent explosions rocked the stands and temporarily blinded eyes.

The air was filled with glowing embers like luminescent moths, swooping and fluttering upon the spiraling thermal currants. High on the roof of the arena, a cataclysmic crack was followed by a crash that jarred the stands. A hail of burning roof tiles clattered down onto the ground. An apparition appeared in the wavering blaze of heat, silhouetted against a wall of fire. Sakura calmly strolled out and stood alone.

**~~O~~**

She did it. All the hours of blood, sweat, and tears finally paid off. She had defeated her opponent.

When Naruto had sent her the scroll, she thought it sounded pretty useless. Seriously, how often would she happen to have a field of flowers nearby during a battle? But she had to admit to herself – it looked pretty cool.

"Winner, Sakura Haruno."

She bowed to Hayate and; elated with her victory, practically skipped out of the arena to where her sensei and teammates stood waiting. Genma had an elated grin on his face. "What did I tell you, Haruno?"

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall," she quoted with a smirk. She looked at her teammate with a little trepidation, "Try to be careful Shēn when you fight that Gaara kid. Remember what we saw in the Forest of Death. He's very dangerous."

The teen gave her an annoyed look and scoffed, "Humph, he's just a little shrimp like you. I can take him."

* * *

**AN:**

Sorry if you didn't like the prank, but the boys just had to say hello to Konoha in a big way! And for those of you who hadn't read Broken - When Naruto was little, he was absolutely convinced that a woman could become pregnant by drinking out of a man's cup that he spit in!

Thanks to everyone who favorited/followed/commented or is still reading my latest chapter. Thanks to all the guests who commented, sorry I couldn't send you all a personal PM to say it.

**AZFAERYDUST**


	16. The Place Where I Belong

**DISCLAIMER: **No matter how much I want it, I do not own Naruto. I am still only borrowing the characters and I promise not to kill any off in this chapter!I also promise to return them in good condition – well, maybe slightly used!

* * *

Huge thanks to my brilliant beta - **COOKIEMONSTER77**!

This chapter is dedicated to one of my readers** (JuzzyA)**, who didn't like that Kiba was left behind. Well, I didn't necessarily like it either - so you got your wish buddy. I really liked your suggestion and went for it. Hopefully you like it!

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen:**

**_The Place Where I Belong_**

_How can I be lost  
In remembrance I relive  
How can I blame you  
When it's me I can't forgive?_

_Forgive me, why can't I forgive me?_

_~Metallica~_

Gaara's fight was a bit disturbing to watch. Nothing could touch him; not any weapon, exploding tag, taijutsu move, or ninjutsu technique. His sand countered every move the genin attempted. Shēn was nearly crushed to death before his sensei, Genma stopped the match. It took the combined efforts of the sand siblings to stop him from attacking the jonin as well.

Watching the near death happen before their eyes, was something the boys were not prepared for. Naruto distractedly picked at the frayed edges of his clothes for several long minutes before he finally stood up and announced that he was ready to leave. He could tell Sai and Sasuke were of the same mind as they also readily nodded in agreement. It was just too soon.

* * *

**~~O~~**

Sakura and Ino stood outside the medic's room waiting for news on Sakura's teammate when she saw him walking with his family. Her breath caught in her throat and for a moment, she forgot to breathe. "Naruto," she whispered.

He raised his head and met Sakura's gaze. His eyes were the same searing blue, but for an instant, appeared as cold as death. His grim expression shocked her.

Then he smiled.

In a blink, the initial impression of coldness was replaced by one of genuine warmth. In fact, Sakura was overwhelmed by the clear, sky-blue color, and the beauty of his eyes; she instinctively knew as she was peering through them that she was looking at a warm, gentle soul.

"Hey," he said awkwardly. As excited as he was to see her, now simply was not a good time for him. He pushed those feelings aside and grinned at her.

"You're back. I can't believe that you're finally back where you belong; home."

"Did you miss me?" he teasingly asked.

"More than you'll ever know…"

"Tch."

Sakura's gaze drifted to where the disbelieving snort came from. The pair of pale, dark haired boys stood flanking Naruto. "It's good to see you guys," she said and then took an involuntary step backwards at the hostility that seemed to radiate from the two. She sent a bewildered look at Naruto and caught the tail end of a frown he directed at them.

"Don't mind them Sakura, they're just tired from our trip, is all."

His heart grew a little lighter as he looked at her. Sakura had always been focused and determined. She possessed a self-confidence far beyond her years. It was one of the many reasons why he liked her so much. She was completely different from the other girls at the academy in his eyes. But he sensed her bravado was a cover for her insecurities. That realization had always made him feel protective towards her. He sent a glare at his brothers. They knew how he felt.

"O-Okay."

He ignored the annoyed gaze of his brothers. He knew they didn't like her because of her past actions towards him, but he didn't care. He knew the Sakura from the past was different from the girl she had become. He knew they would see it in time too.

"I saw your fight, it was amazing."

"Thanks. Hopefully it was good enough to make chunin."

"You'll do it. I believe it." they stared at each other for a moment and then Naruto said, "So, um…on the way over here, Ayame told me that you have something interesting to tell me."

Sakura's brow furrowed. Perplexed, she turned and asked, "I do?"

"The job…," prodded Ayame.

"Oh, that's right… I hadn't had the chance to write you about that. I am going to be helping out your mother at the ramen stand since your father doesn't want her to work anymore."

Anko and Mikoto shot evil glances at the copy-nin for his domineering ways. "Mah, don't try to kill me," he said pleasantly, "It's for her own good and only until after the baby is born."

"If Ibiki tried that with me, I would neuter him," growled Anko with a significant look at her husband.

At that memory, he tried to justify his actions, "I didn't want you to interrogate that prisoner anymore because you had him too terrified to even speak, much less give us any information. I simply suggested that you wait until you had your hormones under better control."

Naruto completely tuned out the adults as he stared at Sakura with stars in his eyes. "You work at Ichiraku?" he asked with a croak. "And you're going to learn how to make ramen?" At her nod, Naruto thought he had just died and gone to heaven.

"Oh Sakura-chan…" he threw his arms over her and hugged her, "You're the most amazing… most incredible… most… most…!" He sighed and then; realizing what he had his body pressed up against, hastily backed away.

"Well, I don't know about that," she said with an embarrassed laugh, "I just want the extra money and the chance to help Ayame. She's always been very nice to me. You know, she told me about that little incident where you talked Sai into spitting…"

Naruto practically flew back over to her to cover her mouth, refusing to let her tell anyone that little tidbit. "Please," he begged under his breath, "Ino will kill me if she ever finds out that was my fault."

Sakura smirked and whispered in his ear the details about a certain photo she still had in her possession. "I should just tell everyone how adorable you were with your little teddy," she teased. Their faces were mere inches apart and she could actually feel the heat from his blush coming from his face. They heard a snicker and broke apart again.

Feeling awkward, she asked, "So what are you guys doing?"

"Oh, we're going home now. We have a lot of catching up to do."

"No we're not," interjected Sai with his usual deplorable tact, "We are standing around suffering from an uncomfortable encounter."

"Shut up Aho," said Naruto after jabbing him in the ribs with his elbow.

Sai rubbed his chest and added, "Well, it is the truth. Do you two need some privacy? I am sure we all can accommodate you both for a few minutes."

Naruto gaped and then turned bright red. His eyes promised murder and mayhem when he got the other boy alone.

Ino tried to break up the uncomfortable silence. "Uh…so Sai, you look good. You've really gotten taller."

"Yes I have increased my height. It is due to the fact that I have finally begun the transition to adulthood through puberty."

Sasuke and Naruto snickered while Ino and Sakura turned slightly red. "Um…that's nice," stammered Ino, "Uh, well… good for you…?"

"Yes it is. My brother's like to say that I do not have any balls, but they are incorrect. For the record, I do have genitals. They are quite functional and, if I may I say so; aesthetically pleasing."

Sasuke and Naruto couldn't hold back any longer. They took one look at each other and burst out in laughter. Tears ran from their faces as they fell to the ground, howling and clutching the stomachs. The amused adults standing around had to turn their heads and walk away quickly before they too lost it.

Years of self-restraint were the only thing that prevented Ino and Sakura from pounding them all into the ground. The perverts…

Naruto gasped out between chuckles, "How… would you… (he laughed again) would you… know they're… functional?" Fresh laughter had him slamming his head down and rolling.

"Or aesthetically pleasing for Kami's sake?" added Sasuke in between his own laughter.

"I have been informed that those nocturnal emissions are quite common during adolescence and early young adult years," said Sai with a casual shrug. "Jiraiya sensei told me that it happens to all young men after puberty begins." As everyone turned to stare at him with looks ranging from increduality to shock, he calmly stated, "I'm not crazy, my father had me tested."

Anko hurried forward and slapped her hand over his mouth as he was about to open it again. "Okaaay, I think it's time we get home."

They all heard him say as she dragged him away, "But mother, I wanted to know if they have done it too."

With a chuckle, Kakashi held his hand out to Naruto and helped him up. "That is one very odd kid," he said slowly.

"No, that's just our brother," said Sasuke as he stood up. As he walked away with his mother and brother, he paused and said, "He has more strength and confidence than any other shinobi I know."

"What he's trying to say is Sai is ballsy – he's not afraid to say anything to anyone," laughed Naruto. As everyone started to leave, Naruto suddenly remembered something. "Wait, don't leave yet!" he yelled, making Sai and Sasuke stop. "We really should at least find Kiba and say hi to him. I'm pretty sure he'll be mad if he knew we were here and didn't try to find him." He turned and looked at the adults for their agreement and saw to his amusement that Kakashi was trying to make Ayame sit down again.

She brushed his hands off her with a roll of her eyes. "You boys go on ahead. We'll just wait here for you." She added with a wry look and while making air quotes, "…while I sit here and _relax_."

"I need to stay and wait for news about my team mate. Ino, why don't you take them to team eight's box?"

Ino eyed Sai distrustfully and finally agreed with a sniff.

Naruto draped his arm over Sai's shoulders and commented, "I gotta tell ya brother, you really are nuttier than squirrel poo! I can't think of anyone other than you who would announce to _everyone_ that he has wet dreams."

"The proper term is nocturnal emissions."

"Call it whatever you want Aho, it still a wet dream!"

"Mah, boys…perhaps you should discuss this later when not in the company of two young ladies," said Kakashi while pointing at the girls, who stood a foot away fuming in annoyance and anger.

"Oh hehe, sorry… So where to?"

* * *

**~~O~~**

The stood at the top of the stairwell when a voice spoke loudly behind them, "Well, well, well… look at what the dog rolled in!"

Naruto's eyes lit up. He would recognize that voice anywhere. "Kiba!" he exclaimed with pleasure. He turned around and spotted the Inuzuka leaning against the wall with his arm slung around a girl and Akamaru perched precariously on top of his head. His friend had grown very tall in the past two years. He was even taller than Sai. The casual familiarity with which he and the girl touched each other had the trio raising their eyebrows.

"So…uh Kiba, who's your friend?" asked Naruto as he walked over to them.

"Oh sorry guys, this is my mate, Chūjitsuna."

"What?!" shouted Naruto in disbelief and a little bit of jealousy.

"Tch, yeah right…" muttered Sasuke under his breath.

"Aren't you a little young?" said Sai.

"Well, she's going to be as soon as we turn fifteen. My sister Hana decided that she didn't want to become the next clan head, so I'm the next in line. Chūjitsuna and I have an arranged marriage."

"Oh man, you are a god!"

"I told you I had animal magnetism. Too bad you guys had to leave for two years. I'll bet you would be in the chunin exams like me and had girlfriends by now." He gave then all a proud, smug look and folded his hands behind his head and added, "I'll bet none of you even know how to kiss a girl."

"You've kissed a girl too!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He snickered, "You're such a dobe. Can't you tell he's exaggerating Naruto?"

"I'm not lying! Chūjitsuna is my fiancé. Of course we've kissed!"

The girl's face had been getting redder and redder. Finally she had enough. She shoved him back a step and yelled, "Don't you dare go telling lies, Kiba Inuzuka." She held up a finger and continued, "I let you kiss me once…once! And let me tell you something, mister… that will not happen again until you start having better hygiene!"

"Dang," said Naruto with a humorous grin as he watched the girl stomp off in a huff, "And here I always thought it would be Akamaru who would become the boss of you!" he petted the puppy and smirked, "Isn't that right little buddy?"

"Yip!" barked the puppy.

"I am the boss!" snapped Kiba with a blush. He repressed the urge to chase after his girlfriend and beg her forgiveness and instead growled out, "No treats for you tonight, you little traitor."

"Wh-psh…" said Sai while making a whipping motion.

"What the hell does that mean?!" yelled Kiba.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai shared a smirk and chorused, "We'll tell you when you are older."

"Kiba? Are you out here?"

Hinata rounded the corner and stood in shock for a few seconds before letting out a squeal of surprise and delight. "Sasuke, Naruto, Sai! It's so good to see you all!" she took several steps forward and stopped in front of them, smiling bashfully.

Naruto; blunt as always, remarked, "Wow Hinata, you got rid of your stutter…and some clothes." It was true. Gone was the jacket she had always worn and in its place was a tiny little crop top. Although she still obviously very shy, she exuded a quiet poise and assurance that hadn't been there before.

Sasuke's eyes about bugged out. He smacked Naruto's head as he passed by him and took off his jacket. He tried to wrap it around Hinata to cover her from their eyes. "What are you wearing?" he hissed. "As the future clan head, you must maintain your dignity and decorum at all times. What you're wearing is…is…"

She stepped away from him, removed the jacket and threw it at him. "Sasuke Uchiha, don't you dare take that tone with me! You have no right to tell me what to do. There is nothing wrong with what I'm wearing. You had better back of, or I'll…I'll…"

"Yeah Sasuke," said Ino hotly, "There's nothing wrong with what she's wearing."

Sasuke eyed Ino's tiny purple outfit and smirked. Ignoring her, he turned his back and faced Hinata again. "You'll do what?" he challenged.

"I won't let you intimidate me."

Sasuke mentally kicked himself. This was not going as well as he had envisioned it. He just knew Kiba was enjoying seeing him being chastised by this girl and it galled him to no end. Quietly, in hopes that none of them would overhear him, he said, "I'm not trying to intimidate you Hinata, I swear. I am just concerned that you may be giving people the wrong idea when they look at you."

Hinata, sweet wonderful Hinata gave him a warm knowing smile. "It's all about preconceived notions Sasuke. If my opponent thinks I am just a pretty little girl, then he or she will underestimate me. Anko Sensei taught us that."

Sasuke would never be the type of man to praise a girl for her beauty, for it meant nothing. That's not what counted in his mind. There were other things that mattered more. "You are a clever person, Hinata," he said firmly. "It **is** good to see you again."

"Come on," she wrapped his hand in hers and led him into the box. "You should meet my Sensei, Kurenai and say hello to Shino. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you."

Sasuke couldn't give a shit less about meeting her sensei or Shino again, but he happily and willingly followed. She was holding his hand…

_It's good to be back where I belong._

Kiba and Sai shared a look of disbelief. _"How the hell did he manage to diffuse her anger so quickly?_

Naruto grinned and then mouthed the words, _"He's slick!"_

* * *

**AN:**

I was so excited – I finally found the right place to use one of my absolute favorite sayings – "nuttier than squirrel poo!" Yay!

This line here is totally from Big Bang Theory. I just had to put it in my story somehow because I found it so hilarious: "For the record, I do have genitals. They're functional and aesthetically pleasing." Can you not just picture Sai saying that?!

P.S. everyone – I just had my internet shut down because of bit torrents (pirated songs!). So if any of you lose your internet – blame it on Pink's song, Blow me one Last Kiss! Luckily they turned it back on - hopefully there is no fine to go along with it! Dang Pink song…

_Ja Ne,_

**AZFAERYDUST**


	17. Some Things Never Change

**DISCLAIMER: **No matter how much I want it, I do not own Naruto. I am still only borrowing the characters and not killing off any in this chapter…I promise to return them in good condition – well, maybe slightly battered!

* * *

Thanks to my beta **COOKIEMONSTER77!**

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen:**

**_Some Things Never Change_**

_Sorrow is a thing with teeth,_

_And while in time it retreats,_

_It comes back at the whisper of its name._

_~Anon~_

Naruto woke bright and early the next morning feeling better than he had in weeks. As he dressed for his morning run, a gleam entered his eye. He carefully removed the seals on his legs then exited his room as slowly as he could. Not wanting to wake Ayame, he softly tapped on the door across from his and whispered, "Dad, you ready?"

Kakashi gave an answering grunt before getting out of the nice warm bed. He glanced at the alarm clock which read four AM. "Why couldn't he be a late sleeper?" he grumbled to himself.

When he finally yawned himself out of bed and outside, he found Naruto waiting impatiently in the windy yard. "It's about time, old man!" he cheerfully yelled, "You wanna race?"

"What, you think you can beat me, puppy?"

"I'm bigger, faster, and stronger than I was two years ago," bragged the boy.

"Mah, you're pretty cocky for a twelve year old."

"Almost thirteen, dad. I'm a man now. I've even got hair growing everywhere now!" Naruto grinned wide and loudly proclaimed, "I'm gonna win this time. So how bout it? Loser has to buy breakfast?"

"You're on, little man," he said, much to Naruto's annoyance.

Although Kakashi had to admit that the boy's speed was incredible for a genin, he was still no match for the elite jonin. After the fifteenth lap around Konoha, the copy-nin sat at the memorial stone looking bored as the wheezing boy ran up and staggered to halt.

"You owe me breakfast, you hairy slowpoke!"

After Naruto caught his breath, he gave his most charming smile and asked shamelessly, "You got any money I can borrow?"

Kakashi rubbed his head affectionately then invited the boy to join him at the memorial. They sat in silence for a long time, each lost in his own pain and loss. Quietly, the copy-nin said, "I've missed you. It's been far too long."

"I missed you too."

The grin he shot at the man didn't reach his eyes. Raw pain filled them instead. Kakashi hated that look. It was the same haunted look he saw in the mirror for years. The jonin vowed at that moment, his son would not carry on his legacy. "Trying to ignore your pain will only make it worse in the long run, son. For real healing it's necessary to face your grief and actively deal with it."

"I don't know how."

"Tell me more about Fū. You told me a lot about her in your letters. She sounded like a really good friend."

"She's dead. What else is there to say?" answered Naruto flatly.

"When you talk about someone who's gone, it's not only a way of keeping them with you, but so that they'll somehow know that you're still thinking of them, still love them."

"Not today. I am finally home. It should be a happy day. We get to find out who our sensei will be today."

"But son, I think…"

"Not today, please dad, not today."

Kakashi unhappily nodded. "Why don't we go home and see if your mother has managed to get out of the bed without help."

"She sure looks like a duck when she waddles around…"

The shinobi laughed a little and nudged the boy as they walked. "I know, just don't tell her that."

* * *

**~~Naruto's Grief~~**

Into the day with the rising sun and steadily decreasing wind, Naruto walked with no ultimate destination in mind. He had to get away from the house. Kakashi and Ayame were trying to be helpful, but he felt suffocated. Although he had patched things up with Sai and Sasuke, he still wanted to feel bad; he wanted to feel the guilt. He just wasn't ready to let go yet. He just couldn't. It felt like a betrayal.

Naruto spotted Sakura sitting on the steps leading to the upper levels of the village. He casually strolled over to her with his hands in his pockets then leaned against a tree. "Well, well," he said startling her with his unexpected presence, "Those stairs never looked so good."

"Naruto!" she blushed at the unexpected, mature complement coming from the boy, and said in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh nothing; just going for a walk. Do you want to go with me or do you have someplace to be?"

"No, I finished training for the day. I was about to go back to my house and take a shower."

"I'll walk you home if you want." Naruto held his hand out for her to lead the way.

She turned her head a little to study him as they walked. This poised, self-confidant Naruto was so different from the hyper-active one she once knew. It was a little unnerving. Soon, they passed the park they had played in as children.

"Let's stop in here," he said happily as he grabbed her hand and began to pull her. "I don't bite…much!"

Sakura smiled. That was the Naruto she knew from old.

**~~O~~**

They started across the wide grassy area towards the water's edge and the well-worn path along the bank, walking in companionable silence, with only the sound of nature filling the cool, quiet air.

Sakura commented, "It's beautiful here."

"Yes it is. We used to come here a lot to walk along this path when we were little. Do you remember?"

She stole a quick glance at him. His features were relaxed, free of the usual frantic exuberance she frequently saw. "I do."

He slowed and stepped off the path, walking towards a huge camphor tree, its branches draped in a thick strands of moss. "Do you remember this?" he asked.

She moved closer, her heartbeat racing as she recognized the large heart and pair of initials carved inside, NU + SH. "Our climbing tree. I'd forgotten about this." She glanced upward at the branches. "It's a lot bigger than I remembered."

He teased, "It's been eight years. Stuff changes."

She traced the heart with her fingers. "Yes, they do. Lots of things change, just like people." A small chuckle rose up from inside. She turned and smiled at him. "I remember the day you did this. You had just barely learned kanji and you weren't sure how to make the S, so you had me draw it out on the ground because you wanted to carve the tree yourself. You had even planned ahead because you brought your father's kunai. You made me promise not to tell so you wouldn't get into trouble."

Naruto chuckled, "I remember; my dad caught me. I never could get much past him. It was like he was always one step ahead of me my whole life."

Sakura smiled. "You said you wanted it to last forever so everyone could see it when they passed by."

Naruto leaned against the trunk and placed his fingers against the heart. "Looks like it did for the most part."

His smile faded as he reflected again of his actions at Waterfall. It still weighed heavily in his heart. Sakura, sensing his turbulent thoughts, led him over to a nearby bench and prodded him to sit with her. It took a long time, but eventually she got him to tell her what happened. It hurt her heart to see him so anguished.

"You have to find a way to let it go," she said seriously.

"I don't want to let it go, Sakura," he said angrily. "Everyone keeps telling me that. How can I do that? How can I just forget it like…like...like it was nothing?" Naruto stood up and tried to stalk away but her words stopped him.

She placed her hand comfortingly on his shoulder and said, "You don't have to forget it, but you need to forgive yourself. There was absolutely no way you could have known what was going to happen."

"I should have known."

"You couldn't have known, Naruto; stop blaming yourself."

"It's my fault. It's all my fault. We should have protected them," he told her, trying in vain to keep his anger white hot. "It was our responsibility to keep them safe. We shouldn't have let Suien live."

Internally, Sakura was beyond angry with her friend for punishing himself for something he had no control over. She wanted to shake some sense into him, but knew it wouldn't do any good. She said calmly, "If you say so, I'm sure you're right."

"I was responsible for the villagers."

"Whatever you say."

"If I had been smarter, they would still be alive."

"Whatever."

"They're on my conscience."

"Fine with me."

"I'm responsible."

"And I'm sure you'll rot in hell for it."

He couldn't help it; he laughed. The laughter was dark, and for a moment he was afraid in was going to turn into tears for the villagers, but she was not about to let that happen.

She said, "Sit in eternity in a pit of chunky, slimy dog vomit, if that's what you think you deserve."

Though Naruto wanted to keep his rage at full blaze, it was decreasing little by little. His happy-go-lucky nature made it hard to stay negative for too long. He glanced at her and laughed harder.

She said, "You're such a bad guy, you'll have to eat maggots and drink demon bile for, oh, maybe a thousand years…"

"I hate demon bile…"

She was laughing, too; "…and for sure, you'll have to let the Shinigami himself give you a full exam, you know…turn your head and cough…"

"…or be forced to watch Ino flirt with Sai…"

"Oh no," she laughed, "Even hell has its limits."

They were both howling now, letting off steam, and the laughter didn't fade for a long while. When the silence finally settled between them, Sakura was the first to break it; "You okay?"

"I feel rotten."

"But better?"

"A little. Everyone wants to talk about it, but it hurts too much."

"You'll be okay."

He said, "I will be, I guess."

"Of course, you will. After everything's said and done, maybe that's the real bad part. Genma Sensei once told my team that somehow we grow scabs over all the hurts and losses, even the worst ones, deepest ones. He said we go on, and nothing hurts forever, though sometimes it feels like it should."

"My Uncle Gen is smart."

"Yeah, he really is."

"Haruno?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"I like you."

"Who doesn't?"

"I mean it."

"Well, I like you too, Uzumaki."

"Just thought I'd say it."

"Glad you did." A small smile graced her face.

"Doesn't mean we're going steady or anything, although…well… I mean… you know…if _you_ want…"

Sakura lightly punched him on the arm. "You're still such a baka," she teased him affectionately. "Some things never change do they? I'm too young to be dating anyone. Anko Sensei said that a kunoichi should focus on her career before boys if she ever wants to be taken seriously. I want to be great like her."

"Yeah, I get it. She was a pretty awesome kunoichi before she turned into a puking, drooling, farting, burping, urine soaked mother-to-be!"

Sakura laughed so hard she fell of the bench. When she could finally breathe again, she said, "I am **so** going to tell her you said that!"

"Wait, NO! I was just kidding," he yelled with a panicked look on his face.

* * *

**~~Sasuke's Sorrow ~~**

Sasuke sat in his room, deep in meditation. After the euphoria of finally being home wore off, his thoughts were of Fū and the other villagers at Waterfall. So many feelings of regret and guilt plagued him about the things he did and didn't say and do. Mostly, he still felt guilty for not doing something to prevent the deaths, even though he knew there was nothing more he could have done.

Anger and resentment bubbled in his chest, preventing him from being able to fully concentrate. He jerked himself up and moved to grab his weapon's pouch so that he could go train. Itachi's cool voice stopped him.

"Wallowing in self-pity again, little brother?"

"I'm not wallowing in anything. What do you want?"

"I want you to stop this self-indulgent belief that your life is harder and sadder than everyone else's."

A wave of hurt and betrayal rushed over him at his harsh words. He snapped, "I don't believe that."

"Then prove it… talk to us. We are your family; we love you."

Sasuke stiffly replied, "There's nothing to talk about. Leave me alone."

"I cannot do that. You are hurting and it's hurting our mother and me in return."

"Everyone needs to just leave me alone. I don't want to talk. Talk is stupid. It won't make them any less dead, it won't change anything that happened."

"You need to stop blaming yourself."

"This is stupid."

"Yes, blaming yourself for what you couldn't have prevented is stupid."

"I don't blame myself anymore, not really." Sasuke sat heavily on his bed and sighed. "Jiraiya made the three of us understand that. But…"

"But what?"

"But I want to destroy that man!" he yelled, "I want him to pay for what he did…to suffer…to die!"

"Is that what you really want?"

"Yes. The people of Waterfall deserve justice. It's all I can think of, all I can dream of; getting stronger and killing him."

"Is it justice you truly want for them or revenge?"

Sasuke ignored the question and studied Itachi in the dim light of his bedroom. "It comes easy to you... doesn't it?"

"What?"

"Killing."

"It just comes. Easy has nothing to do with it." He sat down next to Sasuke and said quietly, "I take no pleasure in killing. I know I've done more than my share. I am a shinobi. My soul is bathed in a river of blood. The only thing that could wash it clean is peace."

"Hn."

"If you could kill Orochimaru, do you believe it would bring you peace? Would it bring them all back?"

"No. I know that."

"The desire for revenge is the kind of evil that resides in all of us, makes us greedy, uncaring; the kind of evil that will wipe us out, in the end unless we stand up against it."

**"**Stand up?" he asked in disbelief, "Are you saying I should just forgive him for what he did?"

"No little brother. I know Orochimaru's time will come and he will surely die. Until that time comes, remember that old saying: When you begin a journey of revenge, start by digging two graves: one for your enemy, and one for yourself."

They sat side by side for a long time saying nothing until finally, Sasuke said in a low pain-filled voice, "I wish you could have met Fū. You would have liked her…"

* * *

**~Sai's Epiphany~**

Sai wandered through the market, immersing himself in the sounds of people living their lives in peaceful harmony. 'What if' questions kept plaguing him. What if he had asserted himself? What if they had arrived sooner? What if they had arrived later? Would it have been possible to prevent the massacre?

With all the disquieting thoughts in his mind, he didn't see the girl. His hands shot out to grab her before she could fall to the ground.

"Watch where you're going," Ino snapped. She glared up at the offending person and then, seeing who it was, flushed brick red. "You…! What are you trying to do, cop a feel?!" He opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off before he could say anything, "And don't you dare give me one of your disgusting perverted comments or I'll knock you into next week!"

His hands dropped back to his side and he gave her a small polite bow. "My deepest apologies Ino Yamanaka, I am afraid I was not paying attention to where I was going. I did not intend any harm."

Sai's stiff, formal apology drained Ino's anger and left her feeling foolish for thinking the worst of him. She felt her blush creep up to her ears. "Um, no I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm sorry for yelling at you." Although he easily accepted her apology, she still felt a little bad. He looked so distracted and she couldn't help but wonder what was bothering him. Still feeling a little ad for yelling at him, she sighed and gently grabbed his arm. "Come on," she said, "Let me buy you a drink from that cart over there." She pointed towards a small food cart that sat near a shaded grassy area…the perfect place to get him to talk to her.

"That really is not necessary Ino Yamanaka…"

"Sai, it would make me happy and it would be rude of you to say no."

"Very well, I have no desire to be disrespectful. I accept your proposal." He glanced down curiously as she moved her hand to grab his and led him to the cart. He pictured the books on friendship that he had read and the more recent ones that Jiraiya had given him. _"Is she interested in pursuing a friendship or something else? What is expected of me?"_

He had no idea what he should do. Wanting clarification, he asked, "Are you holding my hand because you desire physical contact or because you believed I would not have been capable of locating the stand without your assistance?"

Studiously watching her reactions, he noted blood rushing to her face and the fact that she dropped his hand quickly.

"I…I do not desire physical contact with you Sai," she groaned, "I was just being friendly."

"Ah friendly…I understand. You wish to be friendly with me. Very well, I can do that." He accepted the drink she had held out and then thinking hard, he took her hand. "Is this what is required of me?"

"Uh…not really. Let's just go sit down under that tree and you can tell me what's really bothering you."

He didn't release her hand until they reached the shady space. Once they both were settled, he turned to her and gave a false smile. "Why do you think I need to talk?"

"I don't know. It just seems like something is bugging you." She put her hand on his shoulder in a friendly show of comfort. "I can help you if you want."

_The 'How to win friends' book said that when a person touches you, they are trying to give comfort, but that other book Jiraiya gave me said that when a female touches you, she is signifying a desire to engage in romantic relations._

Sai's face turned an interesting shade of red. Ino looked strangely at him.

_Kiba is engaged and he and I are the same age. He claimed that I should know how to kiss already. I wonder if I should kiss her. Is that what I am expected to do?_

Sai's face turned even redder. He closed his eyes and contemplated moving closer to Ino.

"Sai…? Sai…? Earth to Sai…"

"Hmm… what?" he asked, jerking himself out of his stupor. "Sorry, I was wondering if I should kiss you or not."

"What?!" Ino shrieked, her entire face flushing a brilliant red. "Why the hell do you think I would ever let you kiss me?"

"The books I've read say that when a female touches you, she desires you and likes it when you kiss her."

Ino gaped at him and snapped her mouth shut with a scowl. "Look pervert, just because I was trying to make you feel better when you looked upset does NOT mean I like you! Sorry for the misunderstanding, but for Kami's sake, don't think everything's like it is in a book. You can't learn how to dissect anybody's feelings, much less a mature woman like me, with words on paper!" She abruptly stood up, and with one last scathing glare over her shoulder, she stalked off.

Sai sighed. He really wished there was a book that would adequately explain people's swinging moods and emotions. But no, that'd be far to easy and convenient for his messed up life, Sai thought darkly. A shadow fell over him and he looked up to see Anko standing above him. "Mother, do you require something?"

"Do I require…what?! For the love of Kami, don't act all stiff and polite with me boy. Who is the person who bathed you when you were sick?"

"You did."

"And who was the person who tucked you in bed at night?"

"You did."

"And who was the person who bandaged all your wounds, hugged you when you had nightmares, and let you play with all her sharp pointy things?"

"You and father did."

"You're damn right, so don't you dare act all stiff and polite with me. You're acting as you did when you were little and I don't like it. Keeping secrets from your family is a stupid thing to do," she growled, "Now spill."

"Would it have been possible for me to have prevented the massacre?"

"No, shit just sometimes happens."

Sai sighed, unsure if that was the answer he was looking for. He shrugged and shoved it in the back of his mind, deciding to focus on a much more confusing issue. "Does a girl like you if she holds your hand?"

Anko blinked and then grinned wide. "Yeah son, a girl definitely likes you if she holds your hand."

* * *

**AN:**

Thanks to everyone who has favorited/followed/commented on this story! I am working on a future chapter of 'D' rank missions. I have a few ideas, but what I really want to do is a really good Tora mission...I mean, come on - they have to do Tora. Only problem...I'm stumped. If anyone has any ideas I can run with, please send me a pm.

Thanks to my guest reviewers, ZeeCaptein, stephanie, Raiu of Kumo, Gamma89, and unnamed guests

**Ja Ne,**

**AZFAERYDUST**


	18. The Bell Test

**DISCLAIMER: **No matter how much I want it, I do not own Naruto. I am still only borrowing the characters and only making a few battle…I promise to return them in good condition – well, maybe just slightly damaged!

* * *

As always – a huge thanks goes to my beta **THECOOKIEMONSTER77**

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen:**

**_The Bell Test_**

_You didn't think that I'd come back  
I'd come back swinging  
You try to break me, but you see  
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger_

_~Kelly Clarkson~_

"You're late!" yelled Naruto accusingly.

Sasuke frowned. "We were all supposed to meet at my house before we came here, why weren't you there? And it had better be a good excuse."

Sai was cool and unruffled at their tones. He calmly said, "My father was having an important discussion with me. I have great news to impart."

"News? What news?"

"I am no longer thirteen years of age."

"Hn, what are you talking about Aho? You cannot change your age."

"As you may remember, my father guessed at my age and made up my birth date after he adopted me. Now he believes that he may have been mistaken due to my hormonal changes."

"Oh Kami, please tell me that you're not going on about the dreams again because I'm gonna puke if I have to hear about one more," groused Naruto.

"There are some things you should keep to yourself Aho," agreed Sasuke.

"No, it is not just that, there is also the fact that I have a man's penis now while you two are still dickless."

Both Naruto and Sasuke turned beet red. Naruto jumped up from the ground and tackled Sai in a rush. He glanced around and upon seeing no one, hissed, "Sasuke's right, there are some things you should keep to yourself… or we'll be forced to kill you."

Sasuke looked down at Sai and cracked his knuckles. "And we'll make it as painful as possible too…"

Sai gave them both a smile as he was released. "You know," he began thoughtfully, "You two have no reason to be upset. You both will experience puberty in time as well. You will most likely have girls attracted to you like I have."

Sasuke scowled, but Naruto perked up. "Girl…? You really think a girl likes you? Who is it?"

"Ino Yamanaka."

"Ino Yamanaka?" asked Sasuke with derision.

Naruto repressed a snort. "Tall, blonde, and beautiful… That Ino Yamanaka?"

"There is only one Ino Yamanaka in this village. She was holding my hand yesterday. I believe that she wants me to kiss her, but I am uncertain as to what I should do to ensure that that is what she really desires from me."

Naruto's eyes lit up and he shared a devious look with Sasuke. "Oh, don't worry my brother… we can tell you exactly what you should do to make sure she likes ya… can't we Sasuke?"

"Indeed…"

* * *

**~~O~~**

After the first hour passed without any sign of their new sensei showing up, Naruto began to have an inkling as to who their sensei was. His increasing suspicions where confirmed when a swirl of leaves announced the arrival of a certain elite jonin.

"Dad!" yelled Naruto, a little shocked and a lot annoyed. "You are our sensei?"

"I am not your father," he instructed, "I am Kakashi Sensei to you while on duty… if you pass my test," said the copy-nin with an eye smile. "Sorry I'm late, but you see there was this poor old man with a cart full of tomatoes that had fallen over…"

Sai and Sasuke rolled their eyes while Naruto interrupted, "Ugh, save it… Why didn't you say anything to me?"

"Mah, it was a surprise?"

"Are you serious about making us do the bell test, da…uh, I mean sensei?" asked Naruto doubtfully. He blushed a little at his slip of the tongue and continued, "We have proved that we know how to work as a team and we trained under a Sannin."

"Yes sensei," agreed Sasuke, "Is this really necessary?"

"Yes, yes," waved Kakashi nonchalantly, "I want to see what you three have become." He took a small clock from his pocket and set it on a stump. "You have until noon to impress me."

Sasuke tensed and readied himself to run or dodge. "Tch, as if we would need that much time to prove ourselves."

"Do we really require an audience, Kakashi Sensei?" asked Sai, indicating the jonin that stood at the edge of the clearing. Asuma, Genma, Hayate, Guy, Ibiki, and Itachi all stood around as if it were a giant party.

"Oi!" shouted Naruto, "Who's guarding the village?!"

"What do you think chunin are for, huh squirt?" answered Asuma with a smirk.

Naruto blushed red at the childish nickname while Sasuke sniggered. "Shut it 'kitten' or I'll give you something to really laugh at," muttered the blonde under his breath.

Sai looked back at the spectators once more and frowned. "Is that…? Are they really eating popcorn?"

Naruto laughed and then gave the other two a smirk. "Well then, let's give them some real entertainment."

Kakashi hit the button on the clock and asked, "Well, what are you all doing still standing here. Are you trying to impress us by imitating mannequins?"

Sai, Sasuke, and Naruto plunged deep into a forest of massive trees and tall grasses; their bodies a blur of motion from the breakneck speed at which they sought to make their escape. Once they deemed themselves far enough away to ensure a few minutes of privacy, they made their plans. Naruto made shadow clones, and Sai began to draw while Sasuke pulled out a roll of ninja wire.

The clones went south…

Like leaves on a tree in an autumn day, they scattered in the wind. Kakashi smiled to himself as he barely detected them to the south of his position. That area was very heavily wooded, so he figured they must be making an attempt at trapping him. Amateurs…

* * *

**~~O~~**

Kakashi silently moved closer to their location. He had already figured out their little trick. _"This would fool someone who didn't know them as well as I do."_

Henged shadow clones masquerading as the trio lined the trees with paper tags and trip wires. Some were very obvious and some were so subtle, his sharp gaze barely caught them in time to avoid setting them off. _"Tricky. Very good boys…"_

The bushes on his right made a small dry, rattling sound. He tensed in expectation. A small pair of squirrels came running straight towards him. "_Nasty, disgusting, repellent, evil little vermin,"_ he thought with a shudder. Kakashi snatched several shuriken from his pouch and flicked them at the revolting little rats with fluffy tails (aka squirrels).

Instead of a satisfying squeaky little death rattle, there was a pop and a puff of white smoke.

"Brat…!"

"More shadow clones puppy?" he called out. "I had expected better. You're getting predictable." A few papers floated to the earth and ink splashed on top of them where the pair of squirrels once stood. It formed itself into a very familiar set of characters and seconds later, the scent of sulfur hit his nostrils. "Oh crap!" he exclaimed before flickering away at the last minute to avoid the huge chain of explosions which rocked the forest floor and surrounding trees.

Smoke clung to his clothes and leaves stuck in his hair. _"Very nice Sai, very nice! My boy had to have a hand in that one as well."_ He snorted to himself as twenty more squirrels came scampering towards him. Each had a paper tag attached to its body. Bombs burst all around the copy-ninja, yet none came close enough. He easily leapt out of the way as the last one exploded and stomped on the snake that tried to wrap itself around his feet.

"Two years spent training with the legendary Sannin," he scoffed aloud, "And that's the best you three can do…a few bombs hidden in clones and a lot of trip wire?"

A hidden wire that he had been unable to detect snapped tight around Kakashi and held him tight. _So, they hid the real one among all the false ones. Very tricky… _Now bound, he couldn't move as Sasuke appeared with the end of the wire which he held between to his teeth. The dragon fire jutsu raced along it straight at the jonin.

Just before flames encased Kakashi's body, he switched himself with one of Naruto's clones. He was almost upon Sai when he heard a sound that brought him to a complete standstill and nearly shattered every nerve in his body…Naruto's anguished scream.

That one wasn't a clone?

The copy-nin raced back to the scene where his son lay on the forest floor, writhing in agony. His skin was black on the areas where the burning wire touched him and his clothes were still smoking. Sasuke was desperately trying to revive him…

He pushed the Uchiha out of his way and dropped to his knees beside his boy. "Naruto…? Son…?"

"Dad? I'm…I'm sorry…"

"For what?"

A hand reached up from under the ground at Kakashi's feet at made a grab for the bells. Kakashi rolled out of the way just in time to save the bells from being taken and to avoid the rock-encased fist from slamming into the back of his head.

Sai's earth fist jutsu was impressive, as was his stealth. Kakashi knew that if the genin managed to make contact, he would have to deal with a very powerful hardened punch, while the boy was protected from any kind of retaliation. While unsure if he was yet capable of it yet, the copy-nin knew the weight of the rock could be increased to further increase the punch's destructive power.

"Damn clones…" he muttered as he threw a kunai at the 'injured' yet laughing son of his who vanished in a cloud of smoke. The real Naruto popped out of the ground with a wide grin.

"Almost!" he said with a cheeky grin a second before he cast another jutsu towards Kakashi. This time he used one of his Fuuinjutsu traps. The purple barrier rose up and enclosed the jonin, leaving little space.

Kakashi calmly clenched his fist and concentrated his chakra. The sound of a thousand chirping birds filled his ears. Blinding white light was all that could be seen for a moment before the barrier shattered and he emerged. He had to execute a quick leap into the air as a fast jet of water running through the ground came at him. It looked powerful enough to slice through solid rock if given the chance.

Sai's hands flowed through another series of seals. Kakashi recognized them; Earth Dragon Bomb. Jiraiya must have taught him that one because it was a specialty of his sensei; the Third Hokage. A dragon-like head emerged from the muck that Naruto's water jutsu had previously created. The thick sludge sucked at the bottom of his feet, hindering Kakashi's movement. While the jutsu would normally launch balls of mud at an opponent, Sasuke combined his fire technique with it to shoot searing hot rock towards him.

Every technique they aimed at the copy-nin was useless. They just couldn't touch him. Eventually they found themselves back in the wide meadow where they had begun the bell test. Kakashi grabbed the bells hanging at his waist and gave them a little jingle. "Well kiddies," he taunted, "Are you ever going to take this seriously and get them?"

Naruto growled low in his throat while Sasuke's face twisted into a grimace of irritation. Sai ignored the taunt and studied the surroundings before stepping forward. The three glanced at each other in wordless communication and then nodded.

The boys were fast… a lot faster than Kakashi had been expecting, but still not faster than he was. Sasuke spewed fire onto the Rasengan whirling in Naruto's hand, making it turn black with a ring of flames. He then tried to hit Kakashi with the blazing firestorm, but Kakashi simply substituted himself again. A thick branch of a tree was reduced to ashes.

The silver tips of Kakashi's hair were now black and a burning smell lingered in the air. "What was that?!" he asked in surprise.

"That was my Fire Storm Rasengan. The Pervy Sage taught it to us. Pretty awesome, huh? You wouldn't believe how long it took us to get the right amount of flames into it without it going out."

Kakashi waited for the boys to approach him, curious to see what they would attempt. The most disturbing part of this whole test so far, had been the lack of noise…Naruto's noise. He was usually so loud and brash, but today he had seen very little. It was a bit unsettling. All the jonin watching had to force themselves to stay silent as Naruto attacked first in a blur of motion.

He turned his body and drove the heel of his hand into the Kakashi's throat. He continued the turn with all his weight moving in a single fluid attack, executed a sweeping kick. Like a machine, he struck out three unbelievably fast and furious jackhammer punches. Kakashi vanished – just a clone.

He flipped to a standing position and searched for the jonin. Sai and Sasuke were on either side of the man. Their teamwork was excellent. As one would kick, the other would punch. Kakashi blocked their every move and back-fisted Sasuke.

Sasuke turned with cat-like fluidity and swung his right fist. Kakashi captured the blow with one hand and threw a punch of his own, connecting with Sasuke's hard, flat belly. Then he swung around while the Uchiha was gasping for breath and blocked Sai's chakra scalpels and sent a quick jab to his neck.

Sai stumbled back, putting his hands to his throat, gagging and choking.

Kakashi moved in on Sasuke.

Sai wasn't as badly stunned as he pretended to be. He leapt forward and grabbed the jonin in a bear hug. Kakashi's arms were pinned in Sai's surprising iron hold. He smirked and kicked his legs up, smashing Sasuke's nose and unbalancing the Morino boy with his greater weight.

Naruto created two clones. They all grabbed each others hands while the real Naruto began to spin around faster and faster. Once he gathered sufficient speed, he released them, throwing the clones, spinning in a shuriken-like fashion at Kakashi, who had just managed to extricate himself from both prone genin.

Sidetracked by his clone's sailing bodies, he never saw or felt his sensei until it was too late. A voice murmured in his ear, "A shinobi never turns his back to the enemy." With a cringe and whimper, Naruto heard the name of the most horrifying and humiliating jutsu ever created. A jutsu created probably for the express purpose of mortifying every genin to take the bell test before him.

* * *

**~~O~~**

Asuma watched the test with an amused expression. "I would have thought he go a little easy on them," he remarked as he slowly blew a cloud of smoke into the air.

Guy fist pumped and said loudly, "Yosh, he is simply letting them show off their youthful capabilities!"

"I think I need to have them spar with my team," commented Genma as he crammed a handful of popcorn in his mouth, "It might help my little pupil's teamwork if they had the crap beaten out of them once in a while."

"I don't think your team would survive against them," said Ibiki with a proud smirk. "Hey, I don't think I've ever seen Kakashi do that jutsu before now. What is it?"

* * *

**~~O~~**

**"ONE THOUSAND YEARS OF PAIN!"**

He never had a chance.

No chance to escape, no chance to protect himself, no chance to save his pride… Two fingers jammed themselves painfully up his butt and sent him sailing through the air to land in a crumpled heap next to the real Kakashi. Naruto wobbled to his feet and shook himself. "This isn't over!" he shouted angrily and then crossed his fingers in front of his chest and growled low. "Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

The meadow exploded with hundreds of blonde-haired, whisker-faced smirking clones. Kakashi didn't bat an eye. He calmly pulled two kunai from his pouch and twirled them around his fingers. "I have a question for you son…have you ever had so many thoughts in your head that it feels like you might explode?"

Naruto could honestly say he had never felt that way before. He shook his head and yelled, "Come on, sensei, let's finish this!"

"Alright puppy… show me what you've got."

Naruto gave an imperceptible frown at his casual attitude and felt a slight twinge of hesitation. The clones attacked en mass. Kakashi and his clone were so fast, dodging and weaving through the bodies and destroying every single shadow clone they came in contact with. They were stabbed, slashed, kicked, electrocuted, and burned alive.

It became too much for Naruto to process. So many memories of each Naruto's last dying moment filled his mind to the brink. He grabbed his head in pain and uselessly tried to slow the flow of information. Before he could get a grip, hands grabbed his body and threw him to the ground. In another blink of an eye, he found himself hogtied next to his team members. _When did they get caught?_ They each exchanged sour looks with one another while Sai kept mumbling and grumbling something about crazy jonins and psychological profiles.

The long and slightly inventive jumble of words that spewed from Naruto's mouth was almost enough to make Kakashi blush. Sai and Sasuke sniggered in remembrance. _Many_ were the boring, endless days of travel with Jiraiya thinking up new insults to hurl at each other for fun.

"I think Jiraiya may have led you a bit astray if you believe that that is even anatomically possible," replied Kakashi dryly. His eye glinted dangerously as he asked, "And where in the world would you even hear about such things?"

"Oh uh, no where… just around."

"Mah, I guess I'll just have to make you work harder until you remember," Kakashi said seriously. "After all, such profane language coming from the mouth of a Konoha shinobi is really detrimental to our proud image."

Sasuke, Sai, and Naruto's mouths dropped open in shock.

"But Kakashi Sensei, you read porn in public all the time," Sai said.

"It's not porn… it's romance… And besides, I am an adult."

The distant ringing of the alarm clock cut off any further comments and had the three genin turning expectant eyes on their sensei. They waited with bated breath to hear what he would have to say.

"Hmm, I don't know…" he teased while cutting their bindings, "Technically you shouldn't pass since you failed to get the bells."

Sasuke stood up and gave Kakashi an extremely dirty look. He frantically brushed dirt and leaves from his torn clothes in effort to look a little less pathetic in front of his older brother. He muttered to himself, "That's what **_YOU_** think."

"But that's not what this test is really about, dad!" argued Naruto hotly, "It's about teamwork."

"Rules are rules and those who break them are scum."

"Those who abandon their friends are worse than scum," quoted the blonde.

Sasuke put his hands on Naruto's shoulder and said tiredly, "He's just trying to mess with us, baka. I say we go to plan B."

Naruto sniggered and nodded enthusiastically. He reached into Sai's pack and withdrew the package he had stored in it the other day. "Okay sensei, we get it." He opened the paper and pulled out a brand new shiny hot pink book.

"Wow, would you look at this; a brand new Icha Icha book that has not even been released to the public."

Kakashi's eye zeroed in and followed the tome as Naruto waved it back and forth while his hands made grasping motions. He sucking in his breath as the boy threw it in the air while standing next to a mud puddle.

Sai stepped closer and grabbed the book from the air. He inspected the cover and announced, "If we truly do not pass, then that means we are no longer genin. If we are no longer genin, then we are no longer considered adults by shinobi standards. This book is banned to all minors."

"He's right Naruto." Sasuke interjected, "We need to destroy it."

"WHAT! NOOO!"

"We have to sensei, oh right – we failed. We have to **dad**. We know that you are not the type to corrupt the young innocent minds of children…"

"Yes," agreed Sasuke, "That would be really _detrimental_ to our _proud_ image."

"Now now, don't be hasty. I was only kidding. You pass, you all pass. Now be good little students and hand over the precious, I mean book; hand over the book."

Kakashi snatched the book out of the boy's hand, gave Naruto a wink, and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Wait!" shouted Sasuke, "When and where do we meet to…"

"Don't worry teme; I'll let you know as soon as I see him again."

The three gave each other resigned looks when the other jonin who had been watching began their approach. _"Aaaand - let the fussing begin…"_ said Naruto under his breath with a happy grin.

Sure enough, Anko called for her 'angel' to come over, while Naruto cringed as he heard the words 'squirt' and 'midget' used. Guy pounded his back and shouted about the glories of youth and how they should run fifty laps around Konoha to celebrate. Ibiki, Anko, and Sai hurried away followed quickly by Itachi and Sasuke, who were going to train on the Mangekyo.

Naruto looked up at the sky and commented, "Well, would you look at the time! I've really got to be going." In a flash, he too was gone.

* * *

~~O~~

It didn't take long for him to find Kakashi. He knew all the man's quiet places. They slowly walked through the village together, enjoying the beautiful peaceful day. Kakashi eventually led them to a small restaurant to grab a quick snack. As soon as they sat down and placed their orders, he asked, "One last thing son… how have your observational skills improved?"

Naruto's eyes never wavered from Kakashi's. He pictured the scene in his head and recited,"There are big windows along the west wall that face out into the street. The hallway leading to the kitchen and bathrooms feed into the dining area from one side. There is a large frosted airshaft window along that wall."

"The lady in the corner drinking tea is either Anbu or ex-Anbu," said Naruto with a confidant look. "I can tell you that the green-eyed waitress is left-handed and the guy at the counter weighs two-hundred and fifteen pounds and knows how to handle himself. I know that the best, first place to look for a weapon in this place, besides the kitchen, would be that man sitting at the table across from us because of the slight bulge when he stretches his leg. The couple that just left are married, but not to each other. The cook smells like he drinks while he's working and the woman behind us has been following us since we left the training grounds."

"Explain."

"First off, the kunoichi has been studying everyone and everything in this place without appearing to. She has positioned herself for optimum defense. She reminds me a lot of you which is why I think Anbu. The waitress has quite a few scars on her left hand. It's common for the predominate hand to receive the most injuries. The same goes for the man at the counter, who is right handed, he has very rough looking knuckles, which tell me that he fights a lot, plus his nose has been broken at least twice. I've already told you about the weapon strapped to the man's leg, probably a knife; a long one. The couple that just left were both wearing rings, but they kept looking around as if they were afraid of being seen together. I couldn't smell fresh alcohol, but the sour smell of it, as if it's been sweated out. It could be that the cook got really drunk last night, but I don't think so."

"And this woman who has been following us today?"

"She smells like jasmine. I've smelled it ever since we left the training grounds. I think she is a fan girl."

"Why do you think that?" he asked, amused at the boy's response.

"Because I purposely let her hear me. She blushed and ran out just now."

"Not bad son. Not bad at all. Why didn't you mention the kid that has been following us all day?"

"Please dad," Naruto scoffed, "That's just Konohamaru. I didn't mention him because a civilian could spot him… a blind civilian."

* * *

**~~O~~**

As the two walked home, Naruto stiffened a little and then asked, "Hey dad, when are our guests supposed to leave? The exams are over."

Kakashi, also seeing the watchful figure on the roof, frowned a little. "Not soon enough. They are waiting on one of their teammates to recover in the hospital first before returning to Sunagakure."

Black rimmed eyes stared after them long after they passed from his line of sight. They witnessed some very interesting things… the hatred of villagers as they looked upon the Jinchuriki host, the acceptance of several others, and _The Man._

…

…

…the man that willingly put his hands on the boy's shoulders…

…

…

…the man that didn't shy away from the boy's touch…

…

…

Why?

…

…

* * *

**AN:**

Thanks to everyone that has favorited/followed/commented on my story. Hopefully, everyone enjoyed my take on the bell test. So did the boys seem too strong, too weak, or just right? What I was going for is strong, but not god-like. Let me know how I'm doing. I appreciate any feedback (as I've said many, many, mant times - action is not my stong suit!).

I have to say, I was pretty surprised a the the positive feedback I received from the last chapter. I didn't think it would be received so well, but I posted it anyways because I felt the boys really needed to take the time to deal with their guilt and grief. I'm not really going to go into it again, but just know that it will always be there... a small shadow in their hearts... a scab...

To my unnamed guest reviewer about Tora - yes, I read that fic too. It was brilliant and I truly wish I had thought it up. It is **The Lives Worth Saving** by cywsaphyre. I love that idea, but any attempt to use it in my own way wouldn't work...it was just too great.

Also - big thanks to my other guest reviewers: stephanie, thelastshanghai, Gamma89, Lazuli, and unnamed guests.

P.S.

Has everyone seen episode 330, the tailed beast counting song?! SQUEE! Love it!

**Ja Ne,**

**AZFAERYDUST**


	19. Jinchuriki vs Jinchuriki

**DISCLAIMER: **No matter how much I want it, I do not own Naruto. I am still only borrowing the characters and only making a few battle…I promise to return them in good condition – well, maybe just slightly damaged!

* * *

As always – a huge thanks goes to my beta **COOKIEMONSTER77** – who makes sure I use the right tenses and corrects me when I say something stupid! Please be gentle with me – Writing this chapter was the hardest thing I've ever done!

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen:**

**_Jinchuriki vs. Jinchuriki_**

_Don't cry victim to me  
Everything we are and used to be  
Is buried and gone  
Now it's my turn to speak  
It's my turn to expose and  
Release what's been killing me  
I'll be damned fighting you  
~Creed~_

Naruto had just finished eating breakfast when Jiraiya and Kakashi walked into the room. Although he had no proof, he just knew they had been discussing him again. Conversations between the men seemed to always change whenever he happened upon them and at other times, they kept themselves closeted in the den. It was maddening. He had asked them more than once what they were talking about, but they wouldn't say. He actually managed to overhear one word this morning.

"What is the Akatsuki?"

Naruto caught the swift glance that Kakashi exchanged with Jiraiya and knew he hit on something. He was taken aback, for it was a word he had heard one other time by someone he could never trust.

"The question is: Where did you hear about that?" the Sannin answered.

"While meditating," Naruto said with a nonchalant shrug. "The Kyuubi mentioned it the last time we had one of our sessions."

Kakashi paled while Jiraiya coughed as though something was stuck in his throat.

"I don't like the things it tells you. What else has it said?"

"Well…nothing," said Naruto, a bit surprised at the fervent insistence of Kakashi, who was normally the epitome of calmness itself.

Jiraiya suddenly grabbed the boy and spun him around in his chair, much to his astonishment. "Are you sure?" he demanded, his eyes drilling into Naruto's as though trying to draw out his innermost secrets.

It was somewhat nerve wreaking, but he replied honestly, "Yes. He told me about the shinobi you battled; the one on the hill."

"Why? What did it say?"

"It was just another one of his threats…that Orochimaru and that other ninja could destroy me with a flick of their fingers. The Kyuubi said I was too weak and useless and that it was only due to him that I survived at all against the Akatsuki. Why? What's going on?"

Jiraiya went limp unexpectedly and seemed to age. Wrinkles of fatigue appeared on his forehead and in the corners of his mouth, and his fingers reluctantly released their grip on his shoulders.

"What did I say?"

"That would take too long to explain, Naruto. We don't have time for that at the moment," said Jiraiya hastily.

Naruto couldn't help but note the nervous tension in his godfather's voice. Although he dearly wanted to press him, he knew it would do no good for now. He stared down at his plate, mechanically stirring the remainders and thinking that his father and the Sannin had a lot more business and secrets in common than they showed.

Secrets.

Nothing but secrets. They were laughing and dancing around Naruto like shadows from a flaming candle, but there was no way he could get a grip on them. More and more secrets; so many that he felt he could drown in them.

Who was the shinobi with Orochimaru? Why did he want Sasuke? What was the Akatsuki and what did it have to do with him? Judging from their reactions, he knew it did somehow. Nothing made sense right now. The Kyuubi, who had always lied and tried to trick him, spoke the truth and his father, who always told him the truth was keeping secrets from him.

He wished he could remember what happened after Sai and Sasuke left…after he was consumed by the Kyuubi's chakra. But he couldn't. It was all a blank.

Jiraiya slapped Naruto's back and said with false cheerfulness, "It's time to meditate!"

His shoulders slumped a bit. He had been avoiding doing that the past few days. He didn't like the feelings of rage and hatred that lingered after every session with the demon. He especially didn't want to deal with them when he had just arrived home.

But mostly…he didn't want his loved ones to suffer because of anything he did or said afterwards as it had with Jiraiya. "We're supposed to meet with the Hokage in an hour to find out who is going to be our new sensei. Can't we do it later this evening?" he asked.

"Sorry gaki, but I'm leaving later today and we need to show the old man here what to do."

"Hey, I'm only twenty-six!" said Kakashi with a pout.

Naruto sighed to himself and pretended to fall for the distraction. He agreed with a straight face. "Yeah, he really is old, huh? His back goes out more than he does! After all, gray hair is another major sign of old age too, you know."

"How many times do I have to tell you it's _silver_," Kakashi protested, "And it's been that way since I was a born, gaki."

"See Pervy Sage, talk about getting old. My dad was getting dressed and a peeping tom looked in the window, took a look and pulled down the shade."

As Jiraiya and Naruto laughed, Kakashi said, "You two are not funny."

"Yes we are," they chorused. Naruto added, "Wow, people sure get grumpy in their elder years!"

* * *

**~~O~~**

As soon as Naruto delved deep into his mindscape, he could feel Kakashi's presence wrapping around him like a cloak. It was much stronger than when Jiraiya tried to do it. It helped him maintain a calm, serene attitude as he approached the bars of the bijū's prison.

The fox demon noted the boy's new confidence and self-assured attitude as he approached and it angered him. Everything about his jailer angered him; from his blonde hair and blue eyes that resembled the man that prevented his escape back into the world to the very blood that ran in his veins – blood that his previous jailer held.

He hated the boy.

More time was all he needed to weaken the seal and gain release from his prison. The boy had already begun the process by using his chakra. The Kyuubi stood up and stretched before giving a little growl to try and frighten the brat. It didn't work.

Naruto decided to try something different this time. He said nothing. He sat down in the water (_it's not drool, it's not drool, it's not drool_) and waited. Neither one said anything for a long time. The only sound was the steady drip-drip-dripping of water and the demon's harsh inhale and exhales. His patience didn't last, so finally he spoke first. Softly he asked, "Why do you blame me for keeping you prisoner? You have to know I can't let you out and hurt people." The fox refused to acknowledge him so Naruto continued, "If we could find a way to live together in peace and without all that hatred, we could be happy."

Still no response.

"Don't you want to be happy?"

Nothing.

Trying to prod a response out of him, Naruto stated, "I'm going to be Hokage someday with or without your help."

That got a response. The Kyuubi snarled and then pressed his face against the bars of the cage. **"You'll never become the Hokage. You will remain an object of distrust and scorn in this accursed village until the day you die. You will be reviled, despised, and unloved."**

"I don't believe that."

**"You know it to be true, deep down inside you. You'll never become the Hokage," **he repeated.

"I don't believe that!" shouted Naruto. "You'll say anything to get me to release you…anything. I will be Hokage someday and I will be the greatest one that ever lived. I will be the strongest shinobi in the village and I will protect everyone."

The fox suddenly grinned wide causing Naruto to feel suspicious. Something was going on… he could sense it around him. His chance was upon him in a stroke of luck. **"You think you can protect everyone, do you? The power of the ****bijū is something that can protect people. You will witness the true might of a tailed beast very soon."**

"What are you talking about now?" asked Naruto doubtfully.

**"That sand genin who holds the Shukaku is about to run amuck. He will kill your precious villagers…your supposed friends…your useless life…"**

Just before Naruto's eyes snapped open and he left the sewer in his mindscape, the fox's face broke out in a sly, smug and extremely self-satisfied look, which he didn't see. However, he heard the vicious laugh that echoed in his head. He realized the truth in the Kyuubi's statement. He could feel it now too. Gaara…Gaara was…he didn't know, didn't fully understand, but he knew something very bad was about to happen.

"Kuso…I've got to stop it…!"

Kakashi saw the panic in Naruto's face. He captured the boy's arm, pulled him back as he tried to run away, and quickly asked, "Slow down. What is it? Tell us what's wrong."

In a mindless panic, Naruto ripped his arm away and stuttered out, "Bijū… Must stop… Konoha destroyed…"

A rippling breeze was all that Kakashi's fingers could grasp at as Naruto disappeared. He pinned Jiraiya with a deadly look. "Kyuubi?"

"I don't know. He has never been affected like this before."

"We've got to find him."

* * *

**~~O~~**

He weaved through the villagers, who seemed to have nothing better to do than mill about and get in his way, and dodged the foreign dignitaries who were still in town, walking about with their enormous retinues. _"I mean really – can't they even put their pants on by themselves?" _he thought in irritation.

Naruto did bump into one person on accident. He threw an apology over his shoulder and ignored the cry of, "My cabbages!"

As Naruto continued his run through the crowded streets of Konoha with a determined glint in his eyes, he told himself not to panic. After all, the Kyuubi liked to mess with his head. It was probably nothing. The Kazekage wouldn't allow his own son to wreak havoc in Konoha…right?

…

…

Right…?

All the same, the bad feeling persisted and then it intensified. Naruto growled in frustration at all the people out and about. He darted up the side of a building and ran faster, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, instinctively knowing where to go.

* * *

**~~O~~**

Sakura, Heirī, and Shēn were finishing up their morning training with a run up HokageMountain. Sakura was still giddy from having found out that she'd made chunin. She had made it up to the top four in the finals, but didn't get any further when she came up against Gaara. Showing great foresight and maturity, she forfeited the match. She still couldn't believe it. Nothing could change her euphoric mood. Not even her irritable teammate Shēn. He was still going on and on about his loss to Gaara. The idiot nearly died and he was mad. She exchanged an amused glance with Heirī and continued her run.

Like a splash of icy water to the face, her great day was ruined as soon as she reached the summit. Gaara was there and worse yet, Shēn was right behind her. Not good. Not good at all.

Her teammate was the worst sort of ninja. He was a loudmouth braggart who liked to insult his enemies. Sakura and Heirī told him repeatedly that it would be the death of him or them. He should have listened to them…

As soon as Shēn spotted the Suna genin, he swaggered over to him and loudly and arrogantly proclaimed, "I would have beaten you if my sensei hadn't interfered. You're not so tough."

"Shēn, shut up," hissed Heirī.

"No, you shut up," he growled. His eyes narrowed in anger at being beaten by such a small kid. "This little twerp just got lucky is all."

"Shēn, you idiot, shut your damn mouth!" yelled Sakura. She put her teammate in a headlock and backed away slowly. "Do you have a death wish?" she hissed. Sand was thickly swirling around all three of them like a tornado. Why couldn't her idiot of a teammate see that this genin was dangerous? He had a murderous aura about him that was almost visible.

"Please," she pled, "Just ignore him. We'll be on our way and never bother you again. Our teammate is just…is just stupid. He's stupid. He…he got hit really hard in the head earlier."

Heirī nodded, "Yeah, a training accident. We need to take him to the hospital."

Gaara stared at them emotionlessly. "Mother wants his blood. I want his blood."

Shēn jerked Sakura's hand from his mouth and retorted, "I'm not afraid of a mama's boy."

"You will be…"

* * *

**~~O~~**

When Kakashi and Jiraiya heard the word bijū, they automatically assumed Naruto meant the Kyuubi. The copy-nin's thoughts were filled with recriminations against the toad sage. In that moment, he wanted to kill the man.

"How," he asked harshly as they ran, "How in Kami's name, did you think that making my boy communicate with that demon a good idea. How?!"

Without stopping, Jiraiya snapped back, "You need to stop thinking of him as a child, Kakashi. He is a genin now; a soldier of Konoha. You are his sensei now, not just his father. You need to accept that. And furthermore, it **_is_** a good idea. He needs to find a way to harness the bijū's power. It's imperative."

Kakashi's mind whirled as the implications sunk in. Although they had talked about the events at Waterfall in detail, most of their discussions had been focused on the Kyuubi and its harmful effects on the boy. Jiraiya hadn't been able to give much information about the Akatsuki. His grave demeanor meant he knew more than he let on and it angered him.

"Is it really that serious?" he asked calmly despite the hammering of his heart. He dearly wanted to throttle the man, but just wasn't the time.

Jiraiya gave a slight affirmative nod and then pointed up at the HokageMountain where a small speck of orange could be seen nearing the top. "There!" he yelled and ran faster.

* * *

**~~O~~**

Gaara wasn't anywhere to be seen - but the smell of blood was heavy in the air. Naruto scanned the grounds for the origins of the thick coppery scent. His eyes fells upon a pair of legs hidden in a bush. He ran over and pulled it back to discover a genin he vaguely remembered from the academy. Blood was pouring from a wound on his head. Naruto, fearing the worst, gave a relived sigh when he heard the boy groan.

He helped the teen sit up and then asked, "What happened?"

"I…I…was training…running up and down…mountain…with…with…" He lifted his confused gaze up to Naruto's and puckered his brow in thought. "I was with my teammates, Sakura and Shēn."

Naruto sucked in his breath. He knew at once who the teen was from Sakura's letters. "Where did they go, Heirī?" he asked anxiously. "What happened?"

Heirī took a deep breath and let it out slowly, getting his bearings, he replied, "Gaara was already here when we arrived. He told Shēn that he needed to finish what he started. Our sensei stopped their match when Gaara almost killed him."

"Sakura and I tried to hold him off so that Shēn could get away. He was…he was crazy." He gave a slight shiver and rubbed his arms before continuing, "A huge arm made from sand threw me against the tree and I guess I passed out."

The genin saw the torn look in Naruto's face as he look in the direction where the altercation occurred. He shakily got to his feet despite the blonde's protests and said, "Go… help Sakura. I'll get more help."

"And Naruto," added Heirī, surprising the boy, "Save Sakura."

Naruto's eyes lit with steely determination and he vowed in a strong, steady voice, "I will; I promise."

* * *

**~~O~~**

Sakura had never been so terrified before in her life as she jumped from tree to tree. She thought she had the advantage. This was her home; she knew the landscape better than any sand shinobi could ever hope to. She tried to return to the village, but a wall of sand would block her way every time she tried to head in that direction. That was when she realized the sand genin was merely toying with her.

She knew it was the ultimate in stupidity for her to insult Gaara like that, but she didn't know what else to do. Shēn had barely escaped down the mountain and Heirī was hurt. Gaara was approaching him with murderous intent. The thick, terrifying pressure froze her in place. Sakura knew he would kill her teammate and she wasn't about to let that happen.

"Hey mama's boy, with a face like yours, just _how_ ugly is your mother?"

_Oh Kami, why did she have to say that…?_

* * *

**~~O~~**

He vowed to himself that he would protect Sakura at all costs. No way would he allow someone to die if he could prevent it.

He was very close now. Every hair on his body seemed to be electrified as he felt a fresh wave of powerful of chakra engulf him. It could only be Gaara. He heard a sound that brought his heart to a stuttering halt; Sakura's terrified screams. The sound suddenly cut off just as he forced his way through the bushes and into a small clearing in the forest.

Naruto gave a gasp of horror as his mind registered the scene. Part of Gaara's upper-body was covered in sand, lending him a gruesome appearance. A disfigured left arm had the pink-haired kunoichi's body pinned to a tree. It was squeezing her.

"Let her go!" bellowed Naruto while throwing a kunai.

Just like the fight with Shēn during the chunin exams, the sand rose up and formed a shield, protecting Gaara from harm. He turned his head and snarled when he spotted Naruto. "You! I remember you! This is your fault!"

The left side of Gaara's face had been transformed as well. He resembled the Tanuki now. Naruto felt fear trying to claw its way into his heart. He pushed it back, determined to save his friend. "How is this my fault Gaara?" he asked.

"It is because you have confused me; made me question things. I am not a monster, but I am a monster." He screamed out in pain and confusion as he warred with what were once his strongly held beliefs… beliefs that he wasn't sure he wanted to believe in any longer. "I must prove my existence! I am an outcast; the living embodiment of evil. Everyone knows this to be true."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Pffft… so what?! Everyone hates and fears you. I understand that, but that doesn't make it true. Besides, I've told you before; killing won't prove your existence. Please Gaara," he pleaded, "Let Sakura go. She hasn't done anything to you."

Gaara gripped his head and groaned loudly. "Shut up!" Gaara howled in sudden fury. "Shut up, shut up, shut up! Leave me alone!"

"I can't do that. You are hurting my friend. Let her go."

Gaara raised his head; his black-rimmed eyes stared straight into Naruto's. He mumbled, "No…I don't need to kill…" and in the same breath, "Mother demands her blood." He gripped his head in pain again and looked down, moaning.

"Mother? The bijū is not your mother. Don't listen to it. It only wants you to feel its hate. It wants to drive you insane. It cares nothing for you. It only knows hate."

"No…no…it…it loves me…" He snarled and without looking up, said, "Fear me, hate me, do what you know you want to do – deny my existence!" With each word, his voice became harsher and more guttural. He finally released his head and looked Naruto square in the face.

Gone were the placid, sombre green eyes. In their place sat yellow orbs with black pupils taking the shape of a four pointed star. They were more alien and sinister looking than anything he had ever seen before; more frightening even, than Orochimaru's snake-like countenance.

He tried one last plea, "There are other ways to prove your existence Gaara. Don't let the bijū control you. Fight it! Fight the demon!"

"No," he let out a laugh of pure insanity, "I'll fight you!" Gaara's face changed; becoming more beastly. He let out a roar of pure rage and insanity. He thrust himself at Naruto at a highly unexpected speed, boosted by his clawed hand.

Naruto deftly jumped out of the way and Gaara collided with a tree. The force uprooted it and sent it crashing to the ground with a thundering boom. "So be it," he said sadly, but resolutely. He wasn't entirely sure what he could do to defeat the Jinchuriki. Naruto cleared his mind and just decided to make it up as he went along.

…this, according to Jiraiya and Kakashi, was what he did best…

Gaara swiped at him again with his same incredible speed. He barely twisted out of the way in time to avoid being eviscerated by the sharp claw. He threw kunai after kunai, but the sandy skin was like steel armor. Nothing could pierce it. He leapt from tree branch to tree branch, weaving around the Jinchuriki in effort to confuse it.

Soon Gaara screamed out in rage, frustration and increasing bloodlust. Naruto couldn't help the fleeting thought that this could have been him if not for the bonds he had made. Another thought occurred to him: was this what Kakashi and Jiraiya were being secretive about? Did they think he could become like this – that the Kyuubi could do this to him too?

"No, concentrate Naruto!" he yelled at himself, "Get a grip! Don't allow yourself to become distracted now." He crossed his fingers, focused his chakra and yelled out confidently, "Shadow clone jutsu!"

He summoned shadow clones to attack and confuse the Jinchuriki while he crept closer to his back. They used the Rasengan to no effect. The used the water shark bullet jutsu, sending a large number of water sharks into the air. They rushed towards the Jinchuriki from above. Gaara simply used his massive arm to destroy them.

A memory popped into his head. _Asuma reaching into his vest pocket and pulling out a pack of cigarettes, he puts one in his mouth and lights it up. Taking a deep draw, he lets out the smoke slowly and says "Not bad squirt, but it could be better. If you ever used that technique as it is now in battle, you would die."_

Naruto made the practiced seals, took a deep breath and put his hands up to his mouth, and blew. A sharp stream of high velocity wind turned grey in an instant as it picked up dust particles along its path. They hit Gaara and sent him flying back into one of the few trees left standing in the surrounding area. The trees that had been ripped out of the ground flew through the air; their fracturing racket adding to the riotous howls of the wind style jutsu and the roar of anger from the crazed Suna genin.

Gaara shook himself like a beast and crouched low again, preparing to return the attack. Another demented laugh burst forth. His mouth, partially transformed, looked bizarre as he did so.

"I will kill you!" he yelled. The genin began to quiver and shake, and to Naruto's dismay, the earth beneath Naruto's feet began to tremble. Sand separated from the soil and converged upon the Jinchuriki, increasing his mass.

_"Oh crap! And I thought he was creepy enough before…"_

_He also grew a single _barbed tail of sand. Naruto groaned in frustration. Sakura was still pinned to the tree. He had to end this fight soon or she could get seriously hurt, but he knew that the fight between them had just become even more challenging.

So far none of his attacks had been all that successful…actually they had been complete failures. His strongest jutsu were wind based, but the Shukaku also had the same affinity – only stronger, so he had to think of something else. Fire beat wind, but he could barely even do a flame large enough to start a campfire. The water jutsu hadn't been all that effective.

But water could make the sand heavy. He could do several other water jutsu, like the shark bullet and vortex technique, but because he hadn't been near a water source, it hadn't been strong enough to do any damage. Naruto pictured the terrain in his mind and remembered a river that was nearby. If only he could lead Gaara to it…

Two shadow clones that had managed to survive so far were crouched on a branch not far from him. He called them down and instructed them to protect Sakura.

Gaara, leaped towards the blonde, his speed heightened even more since the increased transformation. Naruto tried to evade, but this time he wasn't fast enough. As he sailed through the air (and thankfully all the trees that could have impaled him had been destroyed), he made more shadow clones. They caught him and allowed him to land safely. He raced towards the river with Gaara in pursuit.

He didn't have much time at all. Naruto ran to the middle of the river. He frowned in concentration, the effort of mixing his chakra with the swiftly flowing water difficult. The whirlpool he created sucked at Gaara's feet, pulling him under. _"Yeah! I did it…"_

Disbelief crossed his face as the sand beast managed to extricate itself from the river. He dodged to hail of sand shuriken that was blasted in his direction and hid behind a tree while he tried to think up a new strategy.

Naruto tugged at his hair in frustration. He had no idea what to do in this sort of a situation. It's not as if anyone could exactly teach him what to do without another Jinchuriki on hand (provided they were even allowed to). He tried to think of the worst thing he could do to the other Jinchuriki...

_"So stupid it might actually work…,"_ he thought to himself. He created several more clones to divert the other Jinchuriki's attention and quickly moved. As soon as Naruto was finally able to position himself behind Gaara, he pulled out the biggest explosive tag he had and performed the Thousand Years of Pain jutsu. Pure dumb luck was on his side; he found the weakest spot in the sand armor. The explosion rocked the forest and injured Gaara.

It only served to make Gaara mad… and crazier… "That's it? Is that all you can do? You are weak. I will kill you, your little girlfriend, and then I will destroy your precious village!"

Naruto eye's hardened and he clenched his fists. "You still don't get it do you? You just don't understand what true strength is," he yelled in frustration. Images of his friends and family raced through his mind. As they stood a few feet from each other, Naruto couldn't help but see the pain and loneliness in Gaara's eyes and his anger melted away. He knew that look all too well. It was the look Sasuke had after his father died, it was the look Sai held when he knew he wasn't fitting in again, it was the look he himself had in private after a long hard day of putting up with other people's hatred.

"It's when you fight to protect someone who is precious to you," Naruto said in a quiet voice, and then, bolstered with his success with the previous jutsu; made the ram seal, summoning two thousand shadow clones. "That is when you truly become powerful. Let me show you…" They attacked all at once with a bombardment of wind-enhanced shurikens followed by a barrage of kicks and punches.

Gaara was hurt and dazed; something red poured from numerous cuts. He touched the sticky residue in curiosity. Blood… his blood…

"Aaaaaagh!" he screamed out in fright, pain, and confusion and then – anger.

The full power of his Shukaku transformation was unleashed.

* * *

**~~O~~**

Both men stopped running and recoiled when they felt an inhuman yet familiar pressure wash over them. It had been nearly thirteen years since they had felt it, but it was something that could never be forgotten. Memories of that terrible night flooded through Kakashi and he couldn't prevent the tremor in his hands. His face paled, his eyes widened with trepidation. "Kyuubi…" he whispered. He gathered himself, his expression hardening, "We cannot allow this to happen."

Jiraiya grabbed Kakashi by the arm to stop him from getting closer. "No," he said, "That is the killing intent of the Shukaku."

"I don't give it a shit if it's the killing intent of your mother; we need to go help my son. That thing could kill him."

"That 'thing' as you call it, is a Jinchuriki just like your son. Naruto knows what that boy is going through and can stop him."

"Are you kidding me?! Gaara will kill him."

"No…look…" Jiraiya pointed off into the distance above the trees.

"Can it be? Is that…?"

* * *

**AN:**

Thanks to everyone that has favorited/followed/commented on my story. Thanks also to my guest reviewers,Raiu of Kumo, Gamma89, stephanie, and unnamed guests (by the way, yes, it is a Phoenix).

I wanted to say that there is no invasion because Orochimaru did not leave the Akatsuki and found his own village in time. The sand wouldn't dare invade with the extra help. That being said... who's to say he wouldn't want to cause a bit of an _incident_ with his Jinchuriki? That's my thinking anyways. I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter (writing canon stuff is kinda eh!).

**Ja Ne**

**AZFAERYDUST**


	20. True Strength

**DISCLAIMER: **No matter how much I want it, I do not own Naruto. I am still only borrowing the characters and only maybe hurting a few… but it's only temporary... I promise to return them in good condition – well, maybe slightly battered!

* * *

AN: This chapter has not been beta'd, so hopefully it's not too full of mistakes... but it's October 10th; my little Naruto-chibi's birthday, so I had to release it! Please let me know if I screwed up too badly... I can take it (hides face behind pillow!) and I promise not to cry! lol

* * *

**Chapter Twenty:**

**_True Strength_**

_I'm not afraid to take a stand  
Everybody, come take my hand  
We'll walk this road together, through the storm  
Whatever weather, cold or warm  
Then you know that, you're not alone_

_~Eminem~_

"Sand Funeral!"

A massive wave of sand rose up. Its speed was too fast for Naruto to dodge. It engulfed him and began to squeeze. More insane laughter echoed in his ears. His chakra reserves were dwindling.

He created more clones. One pulled him free of the sand while three more attacked the Shukaku, giving him the time needed to free himself.

The Gaara-Shukaku beast swiped the clones with his tail, but these were not regular shadow clones. These were something else. These were a result of a drunken Jiraiya foolishly making a bet with Naruto and losing. The Clone Great Explosion jutsu was something he had no intention of teaching an immature boy known for having such a propensity for practical jokes.

**Ka-boom!**

Pain…so this is what pain felt like…

Blinded and deafened by the explosion, Gaara howled. The unfamiliar and strange feeling of uncertainty and doubt filled him. He couldn't see anything; he couldn't hear anything… All he could do was feel.

Slowly his sight came back. He looked down at his body and realized that part of it had been destroyed by the unexpected explosion. Sand swirled around him, filling in the gaps; rebuilding his arm. _"How can he be so strong?!"_

**"I WILL KILL YOU!"**

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you keep saying that and yet here I am… still alive." _Okay, probably not the best thing to say at a time like this baka!_

The earth around him began to move as if an earthquake had struck. Naruto looked with wide, shocked eyes as the Shukaku formed, bigger than the tallest building in Konoha, its body formed by vast rivers of sand.

* * *

**~~O~~**

Faced with the gigantic form of the One-Tail Shukaku, Naruto had no choice but to attempt to summon the chief toad. He had only been able to do it once before when Jiraiya put his life on the line by throwing him off a cliff. Well, his life was certainly in jeopardy this time too.

He bit his thumb and made the hand signs, praying it would work. Slamming his hand down, he thought of the huge toad and summoned… Gamakichi?!

The tiny toad hopped over to the boy. "Hey Naruto, have you got snacks for me?"

"SNACKS?! WE DON'T HAVE ANY TIME FOR SNACKS!" he howled in disappointment. He was about to say more when the massive arm came down again. He scooped up Gamakichi and flipped backwards, narrowly avoiding being squashed like a bug. "You need to get out of here before you get hurt."

Gamakichi's eyes grew wide when he saw the Shukaku. "What about you Naruto? This guy looks pretty dangerous. You should get out of here too."

During the time since Waterfall, he had learned more about himself than he had his entire lifetime so far. For one thing, his love of life, his sheer joy in being alive, was greater than he had ever understood until all the lives of all the people he had come to care about in the months he had spent with them had been destroyed in one bloody, brutal day. In the face of so much death, he now savored both the warmth of every sun-filled day and the chill wind of every raging storm. He had never been a fraction as aware of his love of freedom – his need of freedom – as when he had been forced to fight for it.

And in that time, he had been amazed to discover that he _just_ wasn't capable of losing hope. "I can't," said Naruto grimly, "I have to stop him."

Completely drained of all his natural chakra, Naruto set the toad down and desperately tried one last time as Gaara's sand flowed towards him again. This time when he tapped into the Kyuubi's chakra, it flowed through his body like a rushing river, filling his pores with its deadly strength.

When the smoke cleared, he was high in the air…higher than the tallest trees that inhabited the land of fire. Gamabunta, the great Toad King had been summoned.

* * *

**~~O~~**

"You again?! What do you want?" demanded the toad.

"I need your help chief."

"Why should I help you?"

Naruto's mouth gaped open. "Are you kidding me?! Look!" he pointed at the raging Shukaku. Its belly suddenly grew huge and round and then his mouth opened. A ball of raging wind headed towards them in a lethal collision course. Gamabunta leapt high into the air, avoiding the attack and shot a water canon ball in return.

Back and forth, they exchanged air and water jutsu. But as Naruto and Gamabunta gained the upper hand in their battle, Gaara formed the ram seal. "You are going to see the true might from the incarnation of the sand… Feigning Sleep Technique!"

The Shukaku was in complete control now.

"Where are you, puny human!" the beast shouted, his bloodcurdling voice high-pitched but all the more terrifying. "I will crush you!"

"Not good Naruto, not good at all. We've got to wake the little brat up somehow."

* * *

**~~O~~**

"Look…" Jiraiya pointed off into the distance above the trees.

"Can it be? Is that…?"

"Kyuubi…," they said in unison.

Although the fight between Gaara and Naruto was far enough away from Konoha that their massive chakra wouldn't be sensed, Kakashi worried about it. When the Kyuubi materialized, he couldn't repress the shiver that ran down his spine. Even Jiraiya looked shaken for a brief moment. That form was enough to inspire terror in the hearts of every citizen of their village. If anyone saw it, there would be trouble.

The Toad Sanin instantly read the copy-nin's face and clutched his arm before he could move. "It's just a combo transformation; it's not the real thing. Do not interfere."

Kakashi glared down at the hand holding his arm. A dark, dangerous look glinted in his eye. His hand grasped his arm and his fist clenched. The deafening sound of a thousand birds filled the air. "Let go," he growled low in warning, "Before I forget that you are my son's godfather and my friend."

Reluctantly, Jiraiya released him as three figures raced past them. "This is very bad timing…" he muttered, "One of those people was the Kazekage." The two shinobi shunshined after the trio in a desperate race against time. They had to stop them.

* * *

**~~O~~**

As an exhausted Naruto delivered a head butt to Gaara, Gamabunta returned home with Gamakichi. Though both are depleted of all strength and chakra they faced each other for one last attack, leaping at each other from the treetops, but it was Naruto's punch which landed hardest, finally defeating Gaara.

"How?" he gasped out from the ground where he lay. "How are you so strong?"

"I told you," panted Naruto, "I told you that true strength comes from protecting others. It's the Will of Fire." Piercing blue eyes stared into his and a hand was outstretched. "Do you have it in you Gaara? Do you have the Will of Fire in you?"

Gaara closed his eyes while the others boy's words echoed in his head. All the pain in his body was forgotten as he desperately tried to make sense of all that happened. He had been defeated, but not killed. He yearned to have what Naruto had. Could people ever accept him? Was he more than a weapon for Sunagakure?

Both unable to move, Naruto stared transfixed in horror as the sandy hand pinning Sakura high up in a tree began to crumble away.

"No…Sakura…," he whispered. Every muscle in his body screamed in agony as he attempted to stand. She slipped out of the hand and fell headfirst towards the ground. Gaara's fingers reached out. He tried to send his sand to catch her but he didn't have enough chakra left in him.

"Sakura!" screamed Naruto.

The brilliant glitter of gold flashed in front of them and engulfed the girl inches from the ground. It laid her down and then flew towards them. He had nothing left to defend himself with. Naruto closed his eyes and waited for death.

Seconds ticked by and he opened his eyes in confusion. Gaara was covered in gold dust. He had a look of weary resignation on his face. "Farewell, Naruto Uzumaki. I only wish I could have had the chance to redeem myself and have what you have." A small tear fell from the corner of his eye before the golden shroud covered him completely.

He shook his head in disbelief and yelled, "Gaara!" The Kazekage stood before him flanked by Temari and Kankuro. The look in his eyes promised misery and death to any that got in his way. Gritting his teeth in agony, Naruto pulled himself upright, took a step forward and then another. "Please no," he held his arms out to the sand genin and begged for his life. He didn't know why, but he knew he had to save him whatever the cost. He began to sway on his feet and blackness blurred the edge of his vision.

Strong arms captured him and held him up and then a gentle voice whispered, "I won't let you fall."

"Dad!" he groaned in relief. "Dad, don't let him kill him, please. He's been hurt enough. No one should ever have to live like that. It's not his fault."

Kakashi shifted Naruto onto his back as the last of his energy ebbed away. Kankurō stiffened as Naruto's accusation rang in the air. Hotheadedly, he shouted, "The Kazekage wouldn't kill on of its own shinobi."

Temari frowned as she admitted, "A Kage will do whatever's necessary to protect his village from any and all threats."

Naruto had his eyes squeezed shut and his head resting on Kakashi's shoulder. So many bad memories of other's hatred and scorn flashed through his mind. A tear ran from the corner of his eye. "Is that all he is to you?" he mumbled in a hoarse whisper. "…a threat? He's had no one… he's your brother." In an even softer voice that only Jiraiya and Kakashi heard, he added, "That could have been me."

Kankurō glanced at the golden covered body of his younger brother in a mixture of shame, fear and uncertainty. Who the hell was that blonde kid and what right did he have to lecture him? He knew nothing of what it was like to live with a monster.

"Enough," said the Kazekage. Although he said it quietly, everyone could feel the anger rolling off him in waves. He casually flicked his fingers, removing the gold off of Gaara's face, but did not release him from his imprisonment.

Jiraiya stepped between the Suna shinobi and Gaara. He gathered Sakura in his arms and then held one hand out in a conciliatory manner. He said evenly, "Everyone needs to calm down."

Sakura slowly blinked her eyes and looked up at the sanin in confusion. As her memories became clear, she gasped and shook. "I'm alive?"

"Yes, yes, you're fine. However," he addressed everyone, "We need to take these three to the hospital and then we can sort everything out."

"Kankurō… Temari…" snapped the Kazekage agitatedly, "Collect Gaara. We are going home now."

"Stop," ordered Jiraiya authoritatively, "You brought an unstable Jinchuriki into Konohagakure. That is an act of aggression that cannot be overlooked…"

The rest of the heated conversation between the Kazekage and Jiraiya became unintelligible as Naruto strived to maintain awareness. He struggled in vain to keep his heavy eyes open, but in the end, he knew it was an impossible task. There was only one thing he was compelled to say.

"Gaara… his name is Gaara… not Jinchuriki," mumbled Naruto. In seconds everything grew quiet and his world turned black. Kakashi felt him slump over and knew he finally passed out from chakra exhaustion.

"Everyone needs to shut up!" shouted Kakashi. He sweat dropped as soon as he realized that he had just raised his voice to a Kage and a Sanin, but continued anyways, "This is not the time or place to discuss this. We need to go back to Konoha now and let the Kages' deal with this matter. Anbu will be here any second now."

Kankurō and Temari picked up the unconscious body of Gaara and followed their leader back to the village followed closely by Kakashi. When the first cold, wet drop of drool hit his neck and slid down his back, he thought with a wry grin, _"Ah memories…"_

* * *

**~~O~~**

When Naruto awoke, his eyes felt gummy and his mouth was dry as a desert. He blinked several times and in the dim light, saw Kakashi sleeping in the chair next to him. The poor man looked so uncomfortable. Naruto smiled and slowly got out of bed, covered him with his blanket, and then yawned wide. He nearly jumped out of his skin when a gritty voice spoke.

"There has been a very fat female here the past few days as well. She seemed to be upset to leave you, but that man made her leave."

Naruto jumped. He spun around and saw Gaara sitting on the bed next to his. A slew of questions ran through his mind as he blurted out, "Fat female…? Do you mean my mom? Does she have pretty brown hair and eyes and walks like a duck?"

"Well, that man did appear to be quite attached to her, so I can assume she was indeed your mother; also she did have brown hair and eyes, but… a duck?"

"Yeah, she kinda waddles around. She's not fat; she's pregnant. Just so you know, women really don't like it when you say they're fat." Naruto moved to the side of his bed and sat facing the Jinchuriki. "So are you all right? How long have we been here?"

"I am better now and it's been three days."

"Three days?!"

"Yes. There have been a lot of people who have come to see you. They really seem to care." He looked at Naruto with admiration and speculation. "I think I now understand what you meant by true strength. I want to be needed by someone like you are. You've made me see that I can change my path too. I can be needed too. I want to be more than just a weapon."

Wordlessly, Naruto nodded. His whole reason for wanting to become the Hokage was more than to show the villagers that he was not worthless. It was to be needed and to be loved by everyone.

"I am sorry Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto honestly didn't know how to respond to that. A few days ago they had tried to kill each other and now…

…now he didn't know what they were. Were they still enemies? Friends? Bothers? He rubbed the back of his head somewhat bashfully and said, "So'kay. No one was hurt. Besides, we're Jinchuriki… we need to stick together right?"

Gaara stared at the opposite wall deep in thought. Almost to himself, he softly replied, "I want what you have here."

"What?"

"Friends… acceptance… a real life."

"You deserve it Gaara. Go get it."

"I'm not sure how."

"I'm not sure either. I'm not the smartest guy around; I mean, it takes me a long time to learn new things and I make a lot of mistakes. When I was little and my dad was trying to teach me something new, I would get mad and frustrated because I felt stupid for not getting it quickly enough. I say the wrong thing a lot, but I do know what it means to be a friend." Naruto slowly got out of the bed and shuffled over to Gaara. He held out his hand and added, "My dad told me that it didn't matter if a journey was one mile or a thousand. He said that it all started with a single step. Let me be your first step."

Gaara flinched a bit as the hand moved closer to him. He hesitantly took it in his and gripped it tightly, marveling at the feel. It was the first time anyone had touched him in eight years. The ghost of a smile touched his lips.

"It's warm," he commented.

"Yeah, my dad says I run hotter than most people."

"No, it's not that, it's…"

Gaara fell silent as he heard the door open. The Kazekage entered the hospital room and managed to hide his shock at seeing his son willingly touching another.

"Are you well enough to travel yet?"

"My strength has returned."

"Good. Be ready to leave in ten minutes." Without another word, the Kazekage turned on his heel and left the room.

Gaara dropped Naruto's hand and got out of bed. He changed his clothes and then walked towards the door. Before he opened it, he said, "The next time you see me, things will be different. I will find a way to change… to become a better person. Thank you again Naruto Uzumaki."

"Bye Gaara. I know you can do it, believe it."

As soon as the door shut, a melancholy look crossed Naruto's face. He was actually a bit sad to see the other Jinchuriki leave. "Good luck," he whispered. He sighed to himself and said, "Thanks dad, you know… for letting us talk."

Kakashi opened one blurry, bloodshot eye and smiled tiredly. "You knew I was awake?" he asked as he stood up and stretched.

"Tch, please... You're an elite shinobi of Konohagakure; you probably knew I was awake before I even did."

Kakashi walked over to the bed which Naruto was leaning on. He put his hands on the boys shoulder and led him back to his own bed. "Get in," he ordered kindly, "If the medics check on you and find you out of your bed, they'll probably try to kick me out again."

"You got kicked out?"

"Tch, please..." he said with a smile, echoing Naruto's words. "I said try…"

Naruto laid his head on the pillow and took a good long look at his father. He was surprised at how terrible the jonin looked. His clothes were wrinkled and he looked exhausted. "You really look like crap dad," he said bluntly. "Have you been here the whole time?" He pushed back the covers that Kakashi had just pulled over him and added, "Join me, there's plenty of room."

"Where else would I be pup?" The copy-nin lay down next to him and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess." He was silent for a minute as he thought of Gaara. After a few minutes, Kakashi thought he had fallen asleep, but he proved otherwise when he softly asked, "Do you think he will make it? Do you think he will ever find acceptance?"

Kakashi knew he wasn't only speaking about the sand genin. He carefully replied, "You know, Guy once told me that we all have emptiness inside and questions that don't have any answers. If his will is anywhere as near as strong as yours, then I believe he will be alright."

"I hope so."

* * *

**AN:**

Thanks to everyone that followed/favorited/commented on the last chapter!

Thanks to my guests as well, nobody, Gamma89, and unnamed ones.


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